Ukrainian drones strike Russian oil facility as Trump remarks draw Kremlin ire

Key Points:

• Ukrainian drones ignited fires at Russia’s Engels-2 airbase, destroying fuel tanks at a key military site.
• Additional strikes targeted military infrastructure in Ryazan, Kursk, Tambov, and Bryansk regions.
• Moscow claims to have intercepted 174 Ukrainian drones; Kyiv reports significant damage inflicted.
• Russia launched a retaliatory barrage involving over 450 drones and 45 missiles across Ukraine.
• Donald Trump likened the war to a quarrel between "children fighting," prompting criticism from the Kremlin.
• Russian officials labelled the war "existential," blaming the West for rejecting diplomatic proposals.

A series of Ukrainian drone strikes have hit military and industrial targets inside Russia, in one of the most extensive cross-border operations since the conflict began. Fires broke out at the Engels-2 airbase in the Saratov region after multiple drones reportedly struck fuel storage facilities.

The base is home to Russia’s long-range bomber fleet, including the Tu-95 and Tu-160, which have been used extensively in missile strikes against Ukrainian targets. Kyiv’s General Staff confirmed three fuel tanks were destroyed, with footage circulating online showing large-scale blazes and secondary explosions.

Local officials acknowledged damage to a nearby residential building but reported no casualties. Similar strikes were recorded at Dyagilevo airbase in Ryazan and a missile and avionics facility in Michurinsk. Ukraine’s military also claimed hits on a logistics hub in Kursk and unconfirmed damage at Bryansk airport.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said 174 drones were intercepted overnight across 12 regions and occupied Crimea. Hours later, Moscow launched a retaliatory strike involving over 450 drones and 45 missiles. At least five people were reported killed in Ukraine, with more than 70 injured.

During a meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, former US President Donald Trump compared the war to a fight between "two young children in a park".

"They hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart. They don’t want to be pulled. Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart."

The Kremlin issued a swift rebuke. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the comparison as "simplistic", telling Russian state media outlet TASS:

"For us, this is an existential question — a matter of national interests, of our security, of the future of our children, and of the future of our country."

The Engels-2 airbase, located around 600 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, has frequently served as a launch point for Russian air attacks. Ukrainian military officials have made clear that targeting such infrastructure is part of an ongoing effort to weaken Russia’s long-range aerial capabilities.

The latest strikes follow "Operation Spiderweb", a major drone campaign launched on 1 June. That operation reportedly damaged more than 40 Russian military aircraft at airfields across the country and caused significant material losses.

In a statement, Ukraine’s General Staff said:

"Strikes on military infrastructure will continue until the Russian Federation’s armed aggression is brought to an end."

The scale and reach of Ukraine’s latest operations mark a shift in the war’s trajectory. As Kyiv increasingly targets strategic locations within Russia, the conflict has expanded beyond the front lines, into a complex confrontation encompassing military, political, and diplomatic arenas.

With both Moscow and Kyiv escalating long-range strikes and rhetoric intensifying on both sides of the Atlantic, the stakes of the war are no longer confined to Ukraine’s borders but are now reverberating through global alliances and public discourse.