Ukraine Drone Strike Hits Rocket-Fuel Plant 1,550 Miles Inside Russia

Ukrainian drones struck a petrochemical plant in Omsk, Russia, roughly 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) from Ukrainian territory, setting it afire and hitting a nearby logistics warehouse, according to EA WorldView. The strike was one of several carried out across five Russian regions over Oct. 24-25 as part of Kyiv’s continuing campaign against energy, industrial and military infrastructure deep inside Russian territory.

Rocket fuel components among the targets

The Omsky Kauchuk plant produces synthetic rubber, organic compounds and gasoline additives, and also supplies components used in rocket fuel for Russia’s Iskander ballistic missiles, per the same report. A nearby warehouse operated by Ozon, Russia’s second-largest online retailer, was also hit. Mobile internet service was shut down in Omsk following the strike and airport operations were limited, EA WorldView reported.

The Omsk distance roughly matches the range of a July strike on an Omsk oil refinery that had briefly held the record for the war’s longest-range Ukrainian attack, a mark since surpassed by a September strike on a gas plant in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets region more than 1,000 miles further north, according to The War Zone.

Four more regions hit

Ukrainian drones also struck the Tolyattikauchuk petrochemical plant in Russia’s Samara region and the Yeysk airfield in Krasnodar Krai, in Russia’s southwest, according to EA WorldView. In Belgorod city, near the Ukrainian border, drones hit the MegaGRINN shopping complex, a retail center spanning more than 163,000 square meters with over 200 stores. Russian officials reported one person killed and 14 injured in that strike.

The Belgorod region has been a recurring target of Ukrainian cross-border strikes, and the latest casualty figures from Russian-appointed officials have not been independently verified. A separate overnight barrage, in which Russia fired 153 Shahed-type drones at Ukrainian targets, killed eight people and wounded 51 in Ukraine, including in a residential building in Vinnytsia, as detailed in a companion report on the barrage. Ukraine’s military said it downed 119 of the 153 drones Russia launched, including 64 of 92 jet-powered variants, per EA WorldView.

Satellite dispute adds friction

The strikes coincided with a dispute over Ukraine’s military satellite internet service. Starshield data speeds for Ukraine’s armed forces were restored to 400 kilobits per second after a 10-day restriction to 100 kilobits per second, EA WorldView reported. Elon Musk disputed that the restoration had occurred and said Ukraine had violated the service’s terms of use; Ukrainian officials denied the claim. Neither side’s account has been independently confirmed.

The dispute adds another layer of friction to the U.S.-Ukraine relationship at a moment when Kyiv’s long-range strike campaign is already straining ties with the Trump administration over its effect on plans to normalize postwar business with both Kyiv and Moscow.

Mounting toll on both sides

The BBC and the independent Russian outlet Mediazona have confirmed 282,993 Russian military deaths since the full-scale invasion began, including 6,880 added since early October, according to EA WorldView. Russia has not released its own casualty figures, and independent verification of war deaths on both sides remains limited to confirmed identifications rather than comprehensive counts.

The deep strikes come as diplomatic efforts continue on other fronts. A separate ceasefire covering the Oleshky area, credited in part to an intervention by first lady Melania Trump, has not slowed the broader exchange of long-range strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also continued pressing China to use its influence over Moscow to help end the war, with no indication yet that the outreach has altered the pace of strikes on the ground.

What’s not yet known

EA WorldView’s report does not specify the number of drones used in the Omsk, Tolyatti or Yeysk strikes, nor the extent of damage at the Yeysk airfield. Russian officials have not detailed the scale of disruption to Ozon’s warehouse operations or provided an estimate of economic losses from the Omsk strikes. The precise weapons systems used in the Omsk and Samara strikes have not been confirmed by either side.