Ukraine Hits Major Chemical Plant In Perm Krai, Fuel Terminal In Novorossiysk, Authorities Say.

Kyiv; May 2026: Ukrainian drones struck energy and industrial facilities deep inside Russia today (Saturday – 23rd May 2026; morning – IST), targeting a chemical plant in Perm Krai and sparking a fire at a major fuel terminal in the southern city of Novorossiysk, according to Ukrainian and Russian authorities.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) had struck the Metafrax Chemicals plant in Perm Krai, located around 1,700 kilometres (1,050 miles) from the Ukrainian border. “I am grateful to the Security Service of Ukraine for hitting one of Russia’s important military-industrial enterprises”, Zelensky said. “Metafrax Chemicals is an important part of Russia’s chemical industry. The enterprise’s products supply dozens of other Russian military manufacturers, including aviation equipment and drones, missile engines, and explosives”, he added. According to Zelensky, production at the facility has been halted following the strike.

Regional Governor Dmitry Makhonin claimed several drones were shot down on approach by Russian air defences and mobile fire groups, adding that there were no casualties. Earlier, it was reported that the target was the AKM chemical complex operated by Metafrax Chemicals in the city of Gubakha. The facility produces ammonia, urea, and melamine, with a reported capacity of nearly 900 tons of ammonia and more than 1,600 tons of urea per day. The facility was previously targeted by Ukrainian drones earlier this year, with a fire breaking out there in February 2026.

In southern Russia, a separate Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at the Grushovaya oil terminal in Novorossiysk, part of the major Sheskharis Transhipment Complex. Meanwhile, the Krasnodar Krai Operational Headquarters claimed that the fire broke out at an unnamed facility as a result of fallen drone debris. “Several technical and administrative buildings caught fire. Fragments of drones also fell on the territory of the fuel terminal”, the Operational Headquarters said in a press release.

The site is a major oil export terminal that serves as the endpoint for pipelines run by Russia’s state-run Transneft, the world’s largest oil pipeline company. 02 people were injured in the Ukrainian drone attack, authorities reported. The Sheskharis oil terminal has already been struck by Ukrainian drones several times, including on April 06th and on March 02nd.

Ukraine regularly strikes military infrastructure deep within Russia and occupied territories in an effort to diminish Moscow’s capacity to continue waging its war. Kyiv considers energy sites legitimate targets as they fuel Russia’s war machine.

On May 21, Ukrainian forces attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Syzran in the Samara Oblast overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed. “This is yet another of our long-range sanctions against the Russian oil refining industry, and we will continue along this path”, Zelensky said, adding that the target was located more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

In another attack – as asserted by the Russian authorities, Ukrainian drone strike hit dormitory in occupied Luhansk Oblast. However, the Ukrainian authorities have repudiated this allegation by the Russians.

Ukraine’s General Staff on May 22nd has rejected Russian claims that an overnight Ukrainian drone strike killed 06 people and injured dozens of children in occupied Luhansk Oblast, saying it had struck Russian military targets in the area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the alleged strike, while Moscow said it had called for an emergency meeting at the United Nations Security Council.

The Ukrainian General Staff called the Russian claim ‘misleading information’, stressing that it strictly adheres to international humanitarian law and strikes military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes.

Ukrainian drones attacked a dormitory and a neighbouring building of the Luhansk Pedagogical University’s college in Starobilsk, an hour and a half drive north of Luhansk, Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Yana ​Lantratova claimed earlier yesterday (Friday – May 22nd 2026) that 35 children were injured in the strike.

Ukraine’s General Staff said that yesterday (May 22nd), a number of Russian targets were struck, including an oil refinery, ammunition depots, air defense systems, and command posts, as well as one of the headquarters of Moscow’s elite drone unit known as the Rubikon Center for Unmanned Technologies in the Starobilsk area. For reference, Rubicon’ is a Russian military special unit known as the ‘Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies, whose representatives regularly carry out attacks on the civilian population and civilian facilities on the territory of Ukraine, the General Staff said in his statement.

Putin claimed that there were no military facilities near the dormitory. Moscow said that it had called for an emergency meeting at the United Nations Security Council following the alleged strike.

Meanwhile, Russia’s indiscriminate attacks across Ukraine throughout the full-scale war have killed thousands of civilians, with a United Nations report saying that April was the deadliest month since July 2025, with at least 238 killed.

Team Maverick.