Russia launches 409 drones across Ukraine in daytime barrage; Ukraine strikes Tuapse refinery for fourth time and Perm AVT-4

Russia launched 409 attack UAVs against Ukraine between 08:00 and 15:30 on May 1 in the largest single daytime drone barrage of the war, according to the Ukrainian Air Force statement on Telegram. Roughly 250 of the 409 were Shahed-type drones, with the remainder comprising Gerbera, Italmas and other UAVs -- including jet-powered Shahed variants -- launched from Shatalovo, Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia and from Donetsk and Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea. Aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups were involved in the response. As of 15:30, Ukrainian air defence had shot down or suppressed 388 drones, with hits by 16 attack UAVs recorded at six locations and debris from downed drones at 11 locations.

Ternopil was the most heavily targeted urban area, struck by more than 50 Shahed drones; 10 people were injured and power outages spread across multiple districts. Odesa and Kharkiv saw strikes on residential buildings and gas stations with multiple injuries reported. Air-defence systems remained engaged at press time as enemy UAVs were still in airspace.

Ukraine's response struck Russian oil infrastructure. Ukrainian drones hit the Rosneft-owned Tuapse oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai for the fourth time in two weeks, causing a major fire at the marine terminal. The AVT-4 unit at the Perm refinery was also damaged in the same coordinated wave; Ukraine has now made the Perm hub a recurring target after the original April 29 strike on the Transneft linear production-dispatch station 1,500 km from the front.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has been weaving the day's drone exchange into a broader "diplomacy of drones". Ukraine has signed three 10-year defence framework agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, with discussions reportedly under way with Kuwait and Oman; the agreements include annual financing and coproduction targets, with the Gulf investing in research and development and production in Ukraine in exchange for tailored military systems. The Ukrainian defence industry council projects export and joint-venture revenues approaching EUR 2 billion in 2026.