Russian drones hit Kyiv gas stations as Ukraine strikes deep into Russia

Russian drones struck roadside gas stations in Kyiv for a second consecutive day on Friday, wounding five people including a rescuer, as Moscow expanded its air campaign in what Ukrainian officials describe as an effort to intimidate civilians.

Two gas stations in the capital's Dniprovskyi and Obolonskyi districts were hit within ten minutes, according to the State Emergency Service. Ukrainian officials and analysts had warned for months that Russia would extend such strikes to Kyiv, and authorities have urged residents not to linger near gas stations and other exposed infrastructure during air raid alerts.

Strikes on urban gas stations have intensified in recent months, mostly in regions near the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine. They form part of a broader campaign to disrupt civilian life and weaken morale that has also included attacks on food distribution hubs, leaving some supermarket shelves bare in the capital.

The human cost was evident elsewhere. In the central city of Pavlohrad, an official day of mourning was observed Friday for five residents killed near shopping malls in daylight by Russian drones the previous day. The attack also wounded 67 people, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a 32-year-old woman and her 10-year-old son were wounded in an overnight drone attack that struck a nine-story apartment block and a shopping mall. Firefighting efforts were slowed by the constant threat of repeat strikes, forcing crews to take shelter.

Ukraine is urgently seeking to strengthen its air defenses as Russia's invasion stretches into its fifth year, and on Thursday received pledges of additional support from Canada.

Kyiv has also extended its own long-range drone campaign deep into Russian territory. Overnight from Thursday to Friday, Ukraine launched a major barrage, with Russia's Defense Ministry saying air defenses intercepted 777 Ukrainian drones over 16 Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Caspian seas. Two people were killed and three wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Tula region south of Moscow, local officials said. A Ukrainian drone strike started a fire at the Saratov oil refinery in southwestern Russia, according to the independent outlet Astra. Kyiv has repeatedly targeted that refinery, which was last hit in early August.

Ukraine's military reported hitting a refinery more than 3,000 kilometers away in Siberia on Thursday, part of an effort to damage Russia's vital oil sector. The strikes have caused fuel shortages in Russia, one of the world's biggest energy producers. Russia's oil product exports hit record lows in August, and Moscow is importing fuel from South Korea and India, the Finland-registered Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air said in a report. The group said Ukrainian strikes on refining capacity had reversed roles for the world's once-largest oil product exporter, with imports surging to a record 172,000 metric tons in August — more than seven times the previous monthly high.