Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) struck Russia's Transneft pumping station close to Perm near the Ural Mountains overnight on 29 April, setting almost all oil storage tanks ablaze over 1,500 km from the Ukrainian border, the SBU reported. Drones also hit the Orsk oil refinery and a machine-building plant — also about 1,500 km away — in Orenburg Oblast, the same morning.
Morning hits in Orsk
Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported the first signs of an attack in Orsk, Orenburg Oblast, Russia, around 7 a.m., with locals sharing photos of distant smoke. The channel later published a video of an explosion at an industrial facility, noting locals said the refinery had been targeted and at least two drones had landed without ignition.
Russian news Telegram channel Astra's OSINT analysis confirmed Ukrainian forces had struck the Orsknefteorgsintez refinery — one of Russia's largest, with a processing capacity of about 6 million tons of oil a year. The refinery had been struck repeatedly before, including in October and November 2025, Astra noted.
Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ published a video showing the moment a Liutyi drone struck a machine-building plant in Orsk.
Orenburg Oblast governor Yevgeny Solntsev claimed four drones had been shot down over the region with no casualties, and warned the threat of further attacks remained.
"Almost all" oil tanks burning at the Perm Transneft hub
Around 8 a.m., Exilenova+ reported an attack in Perm, Perm Krai, Russia. The channel later clarified the target was Transneft, not the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery as initially supposed. Further analysis of photos showed the burning facility was the linear production-dispatch station (LPDS) Perm in the Malinovskaya area — a Transneft hub responsible for pumping, storing, and distributing oil through main pipelines, with flows running toward the Permskiy refinery, other industrial centers, and Russian export ports including Primorsk, Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk, and Tuapse.
The SBU's Alpha center for special operations carried out the strike, the agency said.
"As a result of the SBU drone attack on the oil pumping station, a large-scale fire broke out. According to preliminary information, almost all oil storage tanks are burning," the SBU said.
Supernova+ said that at least four storage tanks were burning simultaneously. Exilenova+ also posted a video showing two distinct fires at the site.
"Oil rain" in Perm
Astra geolocated eyewitness footage to Pushkin Street in Perm — about 30 km from the facility — and to a highway near the village of Kultaevo, about 9.5 km from the station. Perm Krai governor Dmitry Makhonin confirmed a drone strike on one of the industrial sites in Perm Municipal Okrug, said workers had been evacuated with no casualties, and reported a fire at the facility.
"It is time to move to diplomacy"
Acting SBU chief Yevhenii Khmara said the strike systematically reduces Russia's export potential and undermines the economic foundation that funds the war against Ukraine. He added that hitting oil logistics creates a resource deficit for Russia's military-industrial complex, disrupts the army's fuel supply chains, and forces the enemy to spend significant resources on restoring and protecting oil infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Khmara and the SBU for the strike.
"The straight-line distance is over 1,500 kilometers. We will continue to extend these ranges, and these are entirely justified Ukrainian responses to Russian terror," Zelenskyy wrote.
