Odesa, Ukraine – At least six people, including three children, were wounded in Russian drone strikes on the Odesa region December 31, 2025, Ukrainian officials reported, as Moscow signaled plans to expand its “buffer zone” within Ukraine’s northeast.
Drone Attacks Wound Children, Damage Infrastructure
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Russian strikes on Odesa have injured six, including a seven-month-old baby, while a separate attack damaged a key oil refinery in southwest Russia.
- Russian drone attacks on Odesa wounded six people, including three children aged seven months, eight, and fourteen.
- Significant damage was reported to energy facilities in the Odesa region following the overnight strikes.
- Russia’s top general announced President Putin ordered expansion of a “buffer zone” in northeastern Ukraine for 2026.
- A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at the Tuapse oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, wounding two.
Sergiy Lysak, head of Odesa’s military administration, said in a Telegram post that a 42-year-old man was also injured and is in “serious condition.” The initial report of four wounded, including the infant and two other children, was updated to reflect the total of six injuries.
“Strike drones attacked residential, logistics and energy infrastructure in our region,” Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region, said on Telegram. Drone debris and direct hits damaged facades and windows of several high-rise apartment buildings in Odesa city, according to Lysak.
Energy Facilities Suffer ‘Significant’ Damage
Ukraine’s leading private energy provider, DTEK, stated that Russian overnight strikes targeted two of its energy facilities in the Odesa region, causing extensive damage. “The damages are significant. Restoring the equipment to working condition will take time,” DTEK said in a statement.
Putin Orders Expansion of ‘Buffer Zone’
Meanwhile, Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, announced that President Vladimir Putin ordered expansion of the territory Moscow calls a “buffer zone” in northeastern Ukraine for 2026, Russian news agencies reported. Gerasimov said Putin ordered expansion in Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions, near the Russian border.
The “North” troop grouping, formed in early 2024, has been operating in northeastern Ukraine, seeking to create a buffer along the border and push back Ukrainian forces. Putin has repeatedly portrayed the buffer zone as a way to push Ukrainian forces and weapons farther from Russia’s border, citing cross-border shelling and drone attacks on regions like Belgorod and Kursk.
Kyiv has rejected Moscow’s buffer zone concept, calling it a justification for deeper incursions into Ukrainian territory.
Refinery Hit in Krasnodar Region
In a separate incident, a Ukrainian drone attack wounded two people and sparked a fire at the Tuapse oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, according to the region’s operational headquarters. The strike damaged refinery equipment, one port berth, and five homes, breaking windows in four apartment blocks and a private house.
The refinery blaze was extinguished after burning approximately 300 square meters, but authorities did not provide details on the extent of the damage or whether operations were halted. Tuapse is a key Black Sea outlet for Russian oil products, with a processing capacity of about 240,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
