RIGHT SPEAK: Drones attack two RUssian oil refineries as UKRainian artillery again pounds border town; Southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut remain in UKR control; UKR's Defence Forces repel 16 RU assaults; Freedom of RU Legion is recruiting RUs to storm Moscow, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

Drones attack two Russian oil refineries as Ukrainian artillery again pounds border town:

Drones struck two Russian oil refineries located near the country’s biggest oil export terminals on the Black Sea – as Ukrainian artillery battered a border town for a third time this week.

One drone crashed into the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, located across the Azov Sea from Ukraine, the state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported. No casualties or damage were reported.

Another drone attacked the Afipsky oil refinery, situated 50 miles east of the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said the strike ignited a fire that was later put out.

The facility has the capacity to process 44 million barrels of oil each year.

Russian officials have not assigned blame for the back-to-back attacks on the refineries, but the Kremlin has accused Ukraine of increased drone activity deep within Russia.

On Tuesday, drones hit targets in some of Moscow’s most affluent neighborhoods, leaving two people injured and damaging several buildings. --->READ MORE HERE

Photo by Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Defense Ministry: Southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut remain in Ukrainian control:

Defense Ministry: Southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut remain in Ukrainian control

The southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut and the entrance to the city remain in control of Ukrainian forces, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported on May 31.

According to Maliar, the "offensive activity (of Russian forces) in Bakhmut has been halted." However, Russian forces have increased the frequency of artillery shelling, "indicating a change in tactics."

The current intensity of shelling is comparable to some of the heaviest periods of fighting during the Battle of Bakhmut, Maliar added.

Ten months after the bloodiest battle in the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed on May 20 that it had captured the city.

While Kyiv has not officially acknowledged the fall of Bakhmut, both official statements and accounts from soldiers on the ground shared with the Kyiv Independent effectively convey a similar scenario.

Maliar reported on May 25 that Russia's regular army had begun to replace Wagner forces in the outskirts of Bakhmut but added that some mercenaries still remain in the city.

In her latest update, Maliar said that Ukrainian forces have been hindering the rotation of the regular Russian army "in every possible way." --->READ MORE HERE