Russian attack hit energy facilities in central Ukraine, Ukrainian energy ministry says

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's energy ministry said on Tuesday an overnight Russian attack hit energy facilities in the central Ukrainian region of Poltava, causing large fires.

The ministry said a gas transport facility was targeted by several dozen drones, which caused damage.

"Russian occupation forces launched another massive attack on energy infrastructure facilities in the Poltava region, using cruise missiles and strike drones simultaneously. The attack resulted in large-scale fires," the ministry said on Telegram.

The ministry did not specify what other facilities besides gas infrastructure were attacked.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the defence ministry had carried out a strike on an oil refinery that was supplying fuel to Ukrainian armed forces.

The Poltava region is home to Ukraine's only oil refinery, Kremenchuk, which has been repeatedly attacked by both drones and missiles.

Local media and Kremenchuk's mayor published videos of city neighbourhoods against a smoke-filled sky.

Kyiv authorities have not reported whether the refinery is operational. The ministry noted on Tuesday that Russia attacked Ukrainian oil refining infrastructure twice in June.

Russia has launched massive attacks on Ukrainian oil depots and fuel storage facilities since the first days of the war. As a result, Ukraine's fuel needs were completely covered by imports, mainly from European countries.

The ministry said that Ukrainian energy facilities had been attacked 2,900 times since March 2025 alone.

Russia has repeatedly said it does not attack civilian infrastructure.

(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko, Writing by Max Hunder and Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Sharon Singleton)