Ukraine’s military has said it struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region in an overnight drone attack, causing explosions and destruction, according to an army statement, as daily aerial exchanges intensify with diplomatic momentum to end the war in play.Saratov’s governor said on Sunday that one person was killed and several residential apartments and an industrial facility were damaged, but did not mention the oil refinery being struck.“[Ukrainian] drones are targeting … deeper into Russian territory [than] in the past, where previous attacks have been focused on the line of contact in the south and the western parts of Russia,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Moscow. It is still unclear whether Ukraine’s claims that it hit a refinery are true, he added.Ukraine’s military also said on Sunday that it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army, which has made significant recent gains there.Ukrainian troops have “liberated and completely cleared” Russian forces from Bezsalivka, the military general staff said in a Telegram post. It said 18 Russian troops had been “eliminated” in the fighting.Russia’s war in Ukraine is now into its fourth year, as European leaders have welcomed plans by United States President Donald Trump to hold direct talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on ending the conflict.In Ukraine, three swimmers were killed by unexploded objects in the country’s southern …
