Ukrainian Drone Strikes Damage Engels Airbase and Saratov Oil Refinery

Ukrainian forces carried out drone attacks on the Engels strategic airfield and the Saratov oil refinery in Russia early on August 2. The Engels base houses Tu‑95MS and Tu‑160 strategic bombers used for missile launches against Ukraine, and the strikes caused confirmed fires at the airfield. The Saratov refinery, with an annual capacity of about 7 million tonnes, also suffered a fire; it is a key supplier for the Russian military.

Saratov region Governor Roman Busargin reported two fatalities and damage to civilian infrastructure in both cities. The Ukrainian General Staff also said drones hit the Lyudinovskaya oil depot in the Kaluga region, a drone‑launch site near Navlya in Bryansk, and destroyed several UAV control points in Kursk and in occupied parts of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia. This attack marks at least the 15th strike on the Saratov refinery since the war began.