Ukrainian drones struck multiple targets deep inside Russia early morning on Friday, May 8, setting ablaze a major oil refinery in Yaroslavl and triggering explosions near military-linked industrial facilities in Rostov-on-Don, according to Russian monitoring channels and OSINT analysts.
The strikes came just hours after the Kremlin’s self-declared May 8-10 “Victory Day ceasefire” officially came into effect.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Friday that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed 264 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones between midnight and 7 a.m. Moscow time across more than a dozen regions, including the Moscow region.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Russian air defenses intercepted several drones approaching the capital late on May 7. The attacks forced temporary flight restrictions at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, Russia’s aviation authority confirmed.
No damage was officially reported in Moscow, though residents reported explosions across the region.
Farther south, explosions rocked Rostov-on-Don overnight, with footage shared online showing a large fire burning in the city’s western industrial district.
OSINT project ASTRA said geolocation analysis placed the blaze near the Empils chemical plant and a branch of the Radar Scientific and Technical Center, a defense-linked enterprise that reportedly cooperates with Russia’s defense ministry.
Empils is one of the largest paint and chemical manufacturers in southern Russia and was previously targeted in a drone strike earlier this year.
In Yaroslavl, another fire erupted at the Slavneft-YANOS refinery, one of Russia’s largest oil-processing facilities and a key fuel supplier in the country’s central region, ASTRA reported after analyzing eyewitness footage.
The refinery, controlled by Russian energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom through the Slavneft joint venture, has repeatedly come under Ukrainian drone attacks as Kyiv intensifies strikes against Russia’s military and energy infrastructure far behind the front line.
Responding to the Yaroslavl strike, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the refinery lies “more than 700 kilometers from Ukraine’s state border” and described it as a key facility in financing Russia’s war effort.
“I thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine and our military intelligence for such an act of justice. Ukrainian long-range sanctions continue to work in response to Russian strikes on our cities and villages. Russia must choose real peace, and only strong pressure can ensure it,” he said in a statement on Telegram.
Ceasefire bids collide before Victory Day
The overnight attack came amid competing ceasefire proposals ahead of Russia’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
The Kremlin had proposed a temporary truce for May 8-9 tied to the anniversary events. Zelensky dismissed the proposal as “cynical,” calling it a “theatrical performance” designed to protect the Red Square parade from potential Ukrainian strikes rather than establish a genuine pause in fighting.
Kyiv instead proposed what Zelensky described as a unilateral “regime of silence” beginning May 6 to test whether Moscow was serious about pursuing a real ceasefire.
According to the Ukrainian president, Moscow ignored the offer and violated the proposal within hours. “Russia has not stopped any type of its military activity,” he said.
Zelensky added that Ukraine would respond “mirror-like” to Russian actions and determine “fully justified responses” depending on developments overnight and on May 7.
Moscow, meanwhile, warned foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations on Wednesday that it could launch “massive retaliatory strikes” on Kyiv, including against what it called “decision-making centers,” if Ukraine disrupts Victory Day events in the Russian capital.
Russia has also scaled back this year’s May 9 parade, with state media and officials indicating that heavy military equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles may not appear for the first time since 2007.
Russian officials cited the “operational situation,” while Zelensky suggested fears of Ukrainian drone strikes were the real reason behind the reduced display.