Russia continues to pound Ukraine's railway infrastructure, leaving at least five people wounded in the central Poltava region, as Ukraine reportedly struck back with drone attacks inside of Russia.
In Poltava's Myrhorod district, a Russian attack caused fires that were later contained by emergency services, regional governor Volodymyr Kohut said on Telegram on September 18, adding that one person was injured.
Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's state railway operator, said overnight strikes temporarily cut power to stations in the region, causing delays to passenger trains.
Russia's strikes on Poltava on September 18 came a day after another large-scale attack on Ukraine's railway infrastructure as part of a campaign that has snarled rail traffic, especially at central hubs in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.
Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine's minister of territorial development, accused Russia of deliberately targeting Ukraine's logistics and civilian infrastructure in an effort to increase pressure on the country's population and economy.
"The goal of such attacks is clear -- to complicate passenger and cargo transportation, disrupt stable transport operations, and put additional pressure on people and the economy," Kuleba said on September 17.
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilian installations during more than three years of war on Ukraine despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
Separately, a late-evening drone attack on the Poltava region also damaged a gas station, causing a fire and injuring four more people, Ukraine's emergency services reported.
"An impact caused a fire that destroyed the building. Four people were injured: three drivers and a cashier. The cars, the building, and the station equipment were also damaged."
Other attacks were reported in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. In the Nizhin, Chernihiv region, one rescuer was killed and two more were wounded, local military administrator Vyacheslav Chaus said.
He added that the deadly strike on the local rescuers' unit came on Ukraine's Rescuer Day.
"Russia attacked one of the State Emergency Service units with Shahed and Geran drones. It was cynical and cruel to attack rescuers on Rescuer Day," Chaus said.
Overall, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 48 of 75 drones launched by Russia and reported 26 drone hits at six locations.
Meanwhile, long-range drones launched by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries and petrochemical plants -- Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat LLC in Bashkortostan, an SBU source told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service.
"Each [strike] on a Russian oil refinery reduces the aggressor's capability to wage war against us. Deep strikes inside the Russian Federation demonstrate that there are no safe regions for the enemy," the source said.
The Exilnova+ Telegram channel posted user-generated content that appears to show the fire at the Salvat refinery. RFE/RL could not immediately verify the footage.
Separately, Russia reported a massive Ukrainian drone attack on the Volgograd region. According to the region's governor, Andrey Bocharov, falling debris from the drones knocked out windows and damaged the roofs of two private homes.
The SHOT Telegram channel cited eyewitnesses who reported hearing a series of explosions in the southern part of Volgograd. Later, Ukrainian special forces said they had struck the Volgograd oil refinery, forcing the facility to halt operations.
Earlier, Russian officials also claimed a Ukrainian drone strike killed one man and seriously injured his brother in the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region.
