Representative photo (Image source: AP)
Russian officials said Ukrainian drone strikes caused fires at several Russian oil facilities overnight into Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Moscow’s energy infrastructure, according to the Associated Press.Authorities in the Russian Rostov region said that falling drone debris led to a fire that destroyed an oil depot and a tanker in the coastal city of Taganrog. In neighboring Krasnodar region, officials reported another fire at an oil depot in Armavir, also allegedly caused by drone debris.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to confirm the strike on Armavir, highlighting Ukraine’s growing ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.“Another facility of the Russian oil industry has been reached – Armavir,” Zelensky wrote on the X website, noting that the city is located “500 kilometers from the borders of our state.”He added: “We are returning the war to where it truly came from.”Ukraine has significantly expanded its long-range offensive capabilities during the war, using domestically developed drones and missiles to target Russian military and energy infrastructure.
Attacks on oil depots, refineries and fuel facilities have become increasingly frequent as Kiev seeks to disrupt a key source of revenue supporting Russia’s military campaign.Meanwhile, Russia has continued to launch missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. Kiev is preparing for the possibility of intensifying Russian bombing after Moscow warned earlier this week of upcoming “regular strikes” on the Ukrainian capital.Zelensky said on Thursday that he remains “very persistent” in urging the United States to provide additional Patriot air defense missiles capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missile attacks.The latest developments come a day after a Russian drone, which participated in an attack on Ukraine, struck a residential building in eastern Romania, wounding two people in the NATO member state.The incident renewed concerns about the war extending beyond Ukraine’s borders and sparked criticism from several European countries.Meanwhile, Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom claimed that a Ukrainian drone struck the Russian-controlled Zaporizhya nuclear power plant on Saturday. According to Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev, the drone crashed into the wall of the turbine hall, creating a hole but causing no damage to vital equipment.The Zaporizhya plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, has been under Russian control since the early stages of Moscow’s all-out invasion. Although the plant is no longer operational, it still needs a stable power source to cool its six mothballed reactors and spent nuclear fuel.
