Special operations forces from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducted a successful long-range drone assault deep inside Russian territory overnight into Sunday, May 24, striking a vital energy transit hub that directly feeds the aviation and military logistics networks of the Moscow capital region.
The deep-penetration operation was executed by specialized drone teams from the SBU’s Center for Special Operations “Alpha”. The tactical target was the “Vtorovo” linear production and dispatch station, located in the Vladimir region, roughly 200 kilometers east of Moscow.
According to verified security reports, a swarm of Ukrainian loitering munitions cleanly bypassed regional electronic warfare umbrellas to record multiple direct hits on the facility’s distribution infrastructure, igniting a large-scale fire that rapidly spread across an estimated 800 square meters.
Crippling Russia’s capital logistics and air transport lines
The Vtorovo terminal serves as one of the most critical structural chokepoints in the Russian Federation’s domestic trunk pipeline network. Operated by Transneft subsidiary Verkhnevolzhsknefteprodukt, the station functions as a primary collector and distribution gateway for refined petroleum products – principally high-grade diesel fuel – originating from major refineries across central Russia.
The facility is a primary source of fuel for the expansive network of strategic storage depots encircling the capital limits. Crucially for Russian infrastructure, the Vtorovo hub directly feeds the specialized pipeline rings that fulfill the daily fuel requirements for Moscow’s three primary international airports: Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo.
Ukrainian intelligence assessments indicate that disrupting this transit loop significantly complicates immediate fuel distribution networks for both commercial aviation and the military transport fleets assisting the Kremlin’s cross-border campaigns.
Surgical scope versus blind terror
SBU Head Yevhenii Khmara issued an official statement following the operation, emphasizing that Ukraine’s long-range campaigns maintain a strict focus on degrading the industrial foundations of the Russian war machine.
Khmara contrasted Ukraine’s precise methodology with Russia’s concurrent overnight barrage, which saw a massive attack of 690 missiles and drones intentionally directed into civilian sectors, collapsing high-rise apartment blocks in Kyiv and Cherkasy and targeting a historic museum.
“Unlike the enemy, who deliberately attacks civilian infrastructure and peaceful people, Ukraine delivers precise strikes exclusively against military and strategic targets related to ensuring Russian aggression,” Khmara stated.
The SBU leadership confirmed that the operation is part of an ongoing, systematic directive from the p of Ukraine to steadily degrade the economic and military-industrial potential of the Russian Federation.
The successful strike on the Vtorovo facility expands upon an intense month of deep-penetration operations. Just days prior, the SBU partnered with the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) under Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi to execute the “Snow of Akhmat” operation, deploying low-altitude strike munitions to destroy a major Russian UAV pilot academy and warhead assembly plant in occupied Snizhne, killing an estimated 65 military personnel.
Khmara concluded by warning that Ukrainian long-range capabilities have entered a phase of heightened production, signaling a permanent increase in operations against the Russian interior. “The SBU is already preparing new special operations,” he noted. “The intensity of Ukraine’s strikes on Russian territory will only grow. Our long-range sanctions will continue to work.”