Russia Says It Intercepted Nearly 1,200 Ukrainian Drones as Volgograd Industrial Site Is Hit

MOSCOW, November 13, 2026 – Russia’s defence ministry said its air defences intercepted 1,198 Ukrainian long-range drones between late Thursday and early Friday, in what would be one of the largest reported drone attacks on Russian territory since Moscow’s full-scale invasion nearly five years ago.

The figure, carried by Hromadske and other outlets citing the ministry, could not be independently verified, and Ukraine has not confirmed launching an operation of that scale. The ministry said the drones were intercepted between 8pm on November 12 and 8am on November 13 over 17 Russian regions, the Moscow area, Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black Sea, Hromadske reported. The same outlet noted that the ministry had previously claimed to have shot down 1,214 drones on October 29.

Regional governor Andrei Bocharov said four people were killed and two were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on an industrial zone in the southern city of Volgograd, Reuters reported, describing it as the deadliest attack on the city so far. Volgograd is home to a large oil refinery run by Lukoil and to many other industrial facilities.

Ukraine’s General Staff said it had hit the Volgograd oil refinery and set it ablaze, according to Associated Press reporting republished on Friday. Reuters said there was no official confirmation that the refinery had been attacked and that Lukoil did not reply to a request for comment. Unverified video posted on social media purported to show a large fire at the plant.

According to Lukoil’s website, cited by Reuters, the refinery has a processing capacity of approximately 14 million tonnes of crude oil a year, or 280,000 barrels a day, accounting for about 5 per cent of total refining volume in Russia. Ukraine has sharply stepped up its attacks on Russian oil refineries since the end of October, when an energy ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump failed to take hold, Reuters said. Such attacks have temporarily reduced Russia’s oil refining capacity by about 30 per cent, two industry sources told the agency this week.

The barrage came as US-led efforts to halt the war continued, after talks in Abu Dhabi and a Kremlin meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, developments already reported by Life News Agency. There was no immediate indication that the overnight strikes had altered the diplomatic calendar.

For Malaysia, the practical interest lies in the effect of attacks on Russian refining and of the wider war on energy prices, commodity markets and diplomatic stability – pressures that already reach Southeast Asian importers. This report does not ascribe any official Malaysian comment on Friday’s claims.

Credit : Reuters / Associated Press

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