Ukraine and Russia trade long-range attacks as officials probe possibilities for peace

Servicemen of Ukrainian Armed Forces operate a Leopard 1A5 tank, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure in a "massive” nighttime missile attack and Ukrainian drones struck an important oil refinery inside Russia, officials said Tuesday, as the almost three-year war rumbled on against a backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to end it.

Ukraine’s state energy company, Ukrenergo, said it imposed emergency blackouts due to the Russian attack. Russia has repeatedly hammered Ukraine's power grid throughout the war.

Meanwhile, as part of its long-range drone campaign against targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine hit a refinery in Russia’s Saratov region about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Ukraine's border, the Army General Staff claimed. The facility produces gasoline, fuel oil and diesel fuel for the Russian military, it said.

Outside Ukraine, international efforts are afoot to stop the fighting.

President Donald Trump's senior advisers are expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later this week on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to discuss a path toward ending the war.

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, are among the US administration officials traveling to Germany for the summit.

Also, Zelenskyy said late Monday that Trump's representatives will visit Ukraine this week, ahead of Munich, though he didn’t provide details.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 124 Shahed and decoy drones across Ukraine overnight.

Also, at least 19 Russian missiles of various types hit Ukrainian gas production facilities, it said.

Reports in Russia of the claimed Ukrainian drone attack were sketchy. Officials rarely provide details of successful Ukrainian attacks.

The governor of Russia’s Saratov region, Roman Busargin, reported a Ukrainian drone attack that sparked a brief fire and inflicted damage on an unspecified “industrial facility.” He said that the fire was put out within hours.

One unconfirmed Russian media report identified the attacked facility as the Saratov oil refinery, part of Russia’s state-run oil giant Rosneft.

Some other unconfirmed reports said the attack also targeted Engels, a city in the Saratov region that houses multiple industrial plants.

In addition, the main base of Russia’s nuclear-capable strategic bombers is located just outside Engels. It has come under repeated Ukrainian drone attacks since the early stages of the war, forcing the Russian military to relocate most of its bombers to other areas.