Ukraine’s May 23 Deep‑Strike Drone Attacks Inside Russia: What We Know

Ukraine carried out a new wave of long‑range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory on 23 May, targeting energy and industrial infrastructure hundreds—and in one case more than a thousand—kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The most prominent reported targets were the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and the Metafrax Chemicals plant in Perm Krai, roughly 1,700 km from Ukraine.

Public reporting confirms fires and injuries at the Novorossiysk site, while the exact physical damage at the Perm chemical plant is less independently verified. Statements from Ukrainian and Russian officials differ on some details, particularly about how the Novorossiysk damage occurred.

Fire and Injuries at the Novorossiysk Oil Terminal

In the southern Russian port city of Novorossiysk, regional authorities reported that drone debris triggered a fire at an oil terminal complex connected to the Sheskharis transshipment hub. Several technical and administrative buildings caught fire, and fragments also fell onto nearby oil‑storage infrastructure. Officials said two people were injured in the incident.

The Sheskharis terminal is a major oil export facility and a key endpoint for pipelines operated by Russia’s state‑controlled pipeline company Transneft.

Accounts of what exactly struck the terminal differ:

• Russian authorities said the damage was caused by falling debris from intercepted drones.
• Ukrainian military officials, however, said their forces had confirmed a direct hit on the oil terminal, describing the strike as part of attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure.

Despite these conflicting explanations, both sides acknowledge that a fire occurred at the facility during the attack.

Drone Strike Reported on Metafrax Chemicals in Perm Krai

A second reported target was Metafrax Chemicals, a large industrial complex in the town of Gubakha in Russia’s Perm Krai.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) struck what he described as “one of Russia’s important military enterprises” located about 1,700 km from the Ukrainian border. He identified the facility as Metafrax and said the plant’s production process had been halted after the strike.

Metafrax is a major chemical producer whose products feed into multiple sectors of Russian industry, including materials used in explosives and other military‑related manufacturing.

Russian regional authorities acknowledged that drones targeted an industrial facility in the region, though they did not publicly confirm the exact facility or provide a detailed damage assessment. Preliminary reports indicated no casualties, and some drones were reportedly shot down before reaching their targets.

Because of limited independent verification, the extent of physical damage at Metafrax remains uncertain compared with the clearer reports from Novorossiysk.

Why These Targets Matter

Both locations have strategic significance.

• Novorossiysk is one of Russia’s most important Black Sea oil export hubs, handling crude and petroleum shipments from pipeline networks feeding global markets.
• Metafrax Chemicals is part of Russia’s broader chemical and industrial base that supplies inputs for military production, including explosives and components used in weapons systems.

Striking facilities so far from Ukraine’s borders also demonstrates Kyiv’s growing long‑range drone reach into the Russian interior.

Part of a Larger Campaign Against Energy and Industrial Infrastructure

The May 23 attacks fit into a wider Ukrainian strategy of targeting oil refineries, export terminals, and dual‑use industrial plants inside Russia since the start of the full‑scale invasion in 2022.

Recent reporting based on Reuters calculations indicates that Ukrainian drone attacks knocked out roughly 700,000 barrels per day of Russian refining capacity between January and May 2026.

Separate reports say that strikes over recent weeks forced major refineries in central Russia to halt or sharply reduce production, affecting facilities with combined capacity exceeding 83 million tonnes per year—about a quarter of Russia’s total refining capacity.

Because oil and gas revenues make up a significant share of Russia’s federal budget, these attacks are widely seen as an attempt by Kyiv to:

• disrupt fuel supplies for the Russian military,
• reduce export revenues that help finance the war,
• and strain Russia’s military‑industrial supply chains.

What Remains Unclear

While the broad outline of the May 23 strikes is well documented, several details remain uncertain.

• The exact level of damage at the Metafrax plant has not been independently confirmed.
• Russian and Ukrainian authorities continue to dispute whether the Novorossiysk terminal was directly hit or damaged by intercepted drone debris.

Even with those uncertainties, the attacks illustrate a consistent trend: Ukraine is increasingly capable of launching deep strikes against strategically important infrastructure hundreds or even thousands of kilometers inside Russia.