Watch: Ukrainian drone strike torches Russian oil refinery
A Ukrainian drone strike has set an oil depot in Russia’s Kursk region ablaze, the local governor said on Thursday morning.
Footage of the blaze shows the aftermath of an explosion at the facility in Polevaya, a village 90 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border, with flames erupting from the building and plumes of black smoke billowing into the air.
The attack, which Russian media reported was carried out by two drones, resulted in no casualties, according to the local governor Roman Starovoit.
Three fuel tanks were set alight by the strike and 165 people were working to put out the blaze and stop it spreading, he said.
Ukraine has not yet officially claimed responsibility for the strike, but the Kyiv Post reported it was a “successful special operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR),” citing intelligence sources.
Ukraine has repeatedly used drone attacks to target Vladimir Putin’s energy infrastructure in recent months, most recently striking two oil refineries in Russia’s Krasnodar region last week.
Five Russian oil depots have been attacked in the last month, including one more than 700 miles from Ukraine’s northern border in St Petersburg.
Addressing a strike on an oil depot in the Bryansk border region last month, a source told RBC-Ukraine: “When it comes to an oil depot that is involved in the supply of fuel and lubricants... this complicates logistics for the occupiers. This disrupts supply schedules, security schedules.
“Accordingly it provides additional opportunities, spare time and increases the room for manoeuvre for our defenders.”
As well as threatening Russia’s energy security, the strikes create a “significant diversion of resources” from Russia as air defence systems must either be produced or taken from the front line to defend the facilities, independent Russian media website Meduza reported.
Thursday’s oil depot strike comes a day after Ukraine’s military said it used high-tech naval drones to sink a Russian navy ship in the Black Sea, in what would be a significant success for Ukraine days before the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February.
