Published: 11:20, September 19, 2025
Ukraine says it struck largest fuel producer in southern Russia
By Xinhua
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits practice military skills on a training ground in a sunflower field in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, (PHOTO / UKRAINE'S 65TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE VIA AP)

KIEV - Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SOF) carried out a strike overnight on the Volgograd Oil Refinery in southern Russia.

According to the SOF's statement posted on Telegram on Thursday, the refinery is the largest producer of fuel and lubricants in Russia's Southern Federal District, with an annual processing capacity of 15.7 million tons, accounting for 5.6 percent of the country's oil refining.

ALSO READ: Kremlin says Russia ready for dialogue on Ukraine

Preliminary reports indicate that the refinery's operations have been halted following the attack, the SOF said.

Ukraine repatriates 1,000 bodies from Russia

On the same day, Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict with Russia, a government agency reported.

In this photo, released on Vladimir Medinsky's telegram channel on Aug 19, 2025, employees carry bodies of Ukrainian soldiers for repatriation from refrigerated vehicles parked near Novaya Guta, Belarus, for the exchange between Russia and Ukraine. (PHOTO / HANDOUT VIA AP) 

The repatriation was carried out by various Ukrainian government agencies, with assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on Thursday.

The agency said Ukrainian experts will examine and identify the bodies upon their return.