Two Russian fuel depots on fire after separate drone attacks

Two Russian fuel depots were targeted in separate drone attacks Tuesday, regional governors said, as Ukraine launched a barrage of strikes against its neighbour.

Both attacks caused fires at the facilities, located hundreds of kilometres apart in the towns of Kstovo and Oryol.

In Kstovo, about 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Moscow, a fuel and energy complex was attacked by drones, according to the regional governor.

“Now the special services are working on the spot, using all the necessary forces and means to localise the fire at one of the oil refining installations,” Gleb Nikitin said on messaging app Telegram.

“According to preliminary data, no victims.”

Earlier in Oryol, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the Ukrainian frontier, a drone crashed into a fuel depot and ignited a fire, according to the region’s governor.

“A fuel and energy complex facility was attacked. Special services are working on the spot to contain the fire. There were no casualties,” Andrey Klychkov wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

Local media reported the attack occurred at around 3:00 am local time (0000 GMT).

According to an emergency services official quoted by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, a tank containing petroleum products caught fire.

Ukrainian drones also attacked the Russian region of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on Monday night, causing no injuries, according to that region’s governor.

“Belgorod region was attacked by the Ukrainian Armed Forces using UAVs, which dropped 4 explosive devices. There were no casualties as a result of the explosions, but there was damage to the power line,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

According to Gladkov, seven communities were without electricity as a result of the attack.

In addition, a drone was destroyed over the Tula region, south of Moscow, according to a regional security ministry quoted by the official TASS news agency.

The governor of the Kursk region, also close to the Ukrainian border, announced that two Ukrainian drones had been shot down by Russian defence forces.

Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, the Ukrainian army has succeeded in carrying out drone attacks further and further inside Russian territory.

On Saturday, Russia claimed to have destroyed 47 Ukrainian drones overnight, mainly in the region of Rostov-on-Don, bordering Ukraine, an attack that may have targeted an aircraft factory among other targets. (BSS/AFP)