Ukraine’s drones hit major Russian refinery 800 miles from the border, sparking fire

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian drones struck a major refinery deep inside Russia, military officials said Thursday, the fourth in three days in Kyiv’s monthslong campaign to choke Moscow’s vital oil sector.Russia is one of the world’s biggest energy producers, with oil providing an economic mainstay as its army tries to push deeper into Ukraine in a slow and costly advance more than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.The attacks have dented Russia’s refining capacity, bringing shortages at gas stations. Kyiv officials say the onslaught seeks to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a peace deal. There is no sign that strategy is working.Ukraine’s General Staff said that its forces struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refining and petrochemical complex in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan overnight, causing a fire at the facility.The complex, located southeast of Moscow about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from Ukraine’s border, is one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical facilities, the General Staff said in a Telegram post.The plant processes up to 74 million barrels of oil annually, producing gasoline, diesel fuel and other products, i...