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Ukraine's refinery strikes before 6 August 2025
Summary
A look back at the early-August run of drone attacks on Russian territory and the diplomatic tension around them.
What was happening on the security front as of 6 August 2025? In the days before that date, Ukraine's drone campaign against targets inside Russia continued, while the war's wider diplomatic temperature rose.
Strikes on refineries
On 2 August 2025, the Ukrainian military targeted the Ryazan Refinery in Ryazan Oblast with drones and caused a fire at the facility. The same day, Ukrainian forces launched drone attacks on Penza, Samara and Rostov oblasts. Russian officials said at least three people were killed.
On 3 August 2025, a massive fire was reported at an oil refinery in Sochi after a Ukrainian drone attack. Smoke from the blaze led Russian authorities to close Sochi International Airport.
The attack on Kyiv
These strikes came after a Russian attack on Kyiv on 31 July 2025. Russian forces launched drones and cruise missiles at the Ukrainian capital, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 150. At least one tower block collapsed completely.
Washington raises the stakes
On 1 August 2025, US president Donald Trump ordered two United States Navy nuclear submarines to be deployed near Russia for potential military action against Russian forces. As reported at the time, the order was a response to statements by Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and the current deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, about Trump's previously stated deadline for ending the war in Ukraine.
Taken together, the reports from 31 July to 3 August 2025 show a sequence of events: a deadly strike on Kyiv, a US move involving nuclear submarines, and Ukrainian drone attacks that started fires at refineries in Ryazan Oblast and Sochi and caused casualties in three Russian regions.
