In June 2025, Ukraine conducted a series of strikes on Russian military targets, continuing a shift from passive defence to strategic counteraction that is proving effective.
Some claim these strikes are an escalation. In reality, these strikes demonstrate that a tyrant can be harmed, broken and ultimately defeated.
Strikes on Russia's territory do not aim to harm Russian civilians. Their goal is to make it harder for Russia to continue waging a war against Ukraine. These strikes aim at Russian military capabilities, not civilian infrastructure.They decrease the Russian potential of killing people.
We analysed and created a list of Ukraine's attacks in June 2025, to demonstrate that the aim is strictly in accordance with war rules during wartime and targeting military facilities.\ As under international law, Ukraine certainly has the right to conduct retaliatory strikes, it's clearly outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. ( Chapter VII - Action with respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression)
That means if a country is attacked, it has the right to defend itself, and that is exactly what Ukraine is doing.
Ukraine's strikes in June 2025:
Target: 5 strategic aviation airfields (~41 aircraft including Tu-95, Tu-22M3, Tu-160, A-50)
Location: Strategic air bases: Olenya (Murmansk), Belaya (Irkutsk), Ivanovo, Dyagilevo (Ryazan), Ukrainka (Amur)
Result: Special Operation "Spider Web" by Ukrainian forces, which damaged about 34% of Russian strategic cruise missile carriers, causing the enemy more than $7 billion in losses.
Target: Crimean Bridge (roadway and underwater supports)
Location: Kerch Strait
Result: Roadway damaged, underwater supports hit by naval drones, traffic temporarily halted. This marks the third Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge, a critical supply route for Russian forces and a symbol of Russia's occupation of Crimea.
Target: Iskander missile launchers (1 destroyed, 2 damaged)
Location: Klintsy, Bryansk Oblast
Result: Ukrainian intelligence detected launchers near the border preparing for a strike (likely on Kyiv) and delivered a preemptive strike, thwarting a close-range attack that would have been difficult to intercept.
Target: Engels Oil Refinery, "Progress" Plant, Engels-2 Airbase fuel depot, Dyagilevo Airbase
Location: Engels (Saratov Oblast), Michurinsk, Dyagilevo
Result: Refinery fire, "Progress" plant damaged, Mi-8 helicopter destroyed, Mi-35 damaged, confirmed hits on military facilities. The "Progress" plant specialises in high-precision electronics, including guidance, stabilisation, and fire control systems for artillery and MLRS, as well as elements for automated military command systems used to coordinate strikes on Ukrainian cities. Key Russian aviation equipment and fuel for strategic aviation are stored in Saratov and Engels.
Target:Industrial facility near "Lukoil" oil refinery
Location: Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Result:Hit by Ukrainian drones, fire, marked the resumption of the campaign against Russia's fuel and energy sector.
Target:"Azot" chemical plant
Location: Novomoskovsk, Tula Oblast
Result: Hit by Ukrainian drones, explosions, a section related to the production of dual-use chemical substances was affected.
Target: Tambov Gunpowder Plant
Location: Kotovsk, Tambov Oblast
Result: The plant, a key supplier of gunpowder and pyroxylin for the Russian Armed Forces, was hit by Ukrainian drones, causing a fire and temporary shutdown. This plant, which produces propellants for small arms, artillery, and rockets, as well as pyroxylin (a key explosive component), with production significantly increasing after 2022.
Target: "Resonit" Technopark
Location: Moscow Oblast
Result: Ukrainian drone strikes, explosions at the facility that produces microchips and electronics for the Russian military-industrial complex. The aim is to reduce Russia's ability to manufacture high-precision weapons.
Target:Military airfield near Buturlinovka
Location: Voronezh Oblast
Result: Ukrainian drone strike on the base of the 899th Assault Aviation Regiment, explosions recorded. The facility houses Su-34s, which Russia uses for strikes on Ukraine.
Target: Russian defence industry facilities involved in explosive production
Location: Various locations in Russia
Result: Ukrainian forces struck key enterprises producing explosive materials for the Russian military-industrial complex, fires and damage reported.
Target: Drone production plant
Location: Yelabuga, Republic of Tatarstan
Result: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with other units, struck a strategic enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex, production facilities were hit.
Target: "Progress" Plant
Location: Michurinsk, Tambov Oblast
Result: Powerful explosions in Tambov and Kotovsk, likely targeting the plant that produces control systems for Russian aviation and missile technology.
June 21
Target: Railway echelon with fuel (between Levadne and Molochansk)
Location: Occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Result: HUR forces struck a Russian fuel train, 11 tank cars burned, railway track was damaged, fuel supply to the front was halted for at least several weeks. This is not the first attack on this section, with a previous strike on a fuel echelon on the same line on May 24. The goal is to paralyse Russian logistics, which critically depend on rail transport.
Target:"Atlas" plant of "Rosrezerv" agency (32 fuel tanks)
Location: Kamensk District, Rostov Oblast
Result: Large-scale fire at the enterprise due to a drone strike, confirmed by NASA satellite images. The plant is a critical element of fuel supply for Russian military operations in Ukraine, storing strategic fuel reserves.
Target:"Atlant-Aero" plant
Location: Taganrog, Russia
Result:Ukrainian drone strike on the enterprise that produces components for "Orion" drones, electronic warfare systems, and FPV munitions. The enterprise is an important part of the Russian military-industrial complex, involved in the production of drones and electronic warfare equipment used in attacks on Ukraine.
Target:Marinovka Airbase (2 Su-34s destroyed, 2 damaged)
Location: Volgograd Oblast
Result:Joint operation by SOF, AFU, and SSU: 2 Su-34s destroyed, 2 more damaged, fire in the technical service area. Su-34s are Russia's primary platform for dropping UMPK bombs on Ukrainian positions and cities. The destruction of these aircraft has a significant impact on the enemy's tactical capabilities.
Target:"Rosneft" oil refinery
Location: Novokuibyshevsk, Samara Oblast
Result:Drone attack on the refinery with an annual capacity of 8.8 million tons, explosions reported, emergency services on site, Russian air services temporarily restricted flights. This is not the first attack on this refinery (the previous one was in March 2025). The enterprise is of strategic importance for supplying fuel to the front.
Target: Military facilities
Location: Bryansk, Russia
Result: Main Intelligence Directorate AFU drone strike on military targets in Bryansk on the morning of Ukraine's Constitution Day, a series of explosions and gunfire were recorded. Targeted objects were not publicly specified, but the attack was positioned as a strike on military infrastructure.
Target: Kirovskoye military airbase (3 helicopters, Pantsir-S1 destroyed, ammunition depots, UAVs, air defence positions hit)
Location:Temporarily occupied Crimea
Result: SBU destroyed 3 helicopters (Mi-8, Mi-26, Mi-28) and a Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft complex, ammunition depots, UAVs, and air defence positions were also hit. The strike was another example of a deep operation by Ukrainian special services in occupied Crimea aimed at destroying the enemy's combat assets and logistics.
Target: Russian drone repair base (occupied territory)
Location: Southern Ukraine
Result: MiG-29 fighter strike using three GBU-39 bombs destroyed the UAV repair base, operation conducted in cooperation with the "Flying Skull" unit. This strike on Russian drone logistics is an example of high-precision strikes on technical maintenance infrastructure, critically impacting Russia's drone warfare capabilities in the southern direction.
This is a list of Ukraine's efficient efforts to "demobilise Russia". They also show that, despite Russia's huge territory and substantial resources, its war machine is extremely vulnerable. Ukraine is turning Russia's strength into weakness.
Meanwhile,Russia's so-called "demobilisation of Ukraine" has become a dark meme:
people take photos or videos at the site of their ruined homes or cars, commenting with words like: "Here's another military target, according to Moscow".
Showing the ruins of their homes, Ukrainians reach out to the world: stop believing the lies and manipulations Russia spreads.
We encourage you to read our analysis on Russian attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.
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This publication was compiled with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It's content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
