Russia fuel refineries on fire after Ukrainian drone strikes, officials say

A fleet of Ukrainian drones has targeted Russia, causing explosions and fires at fuel refineries, cutting electricity supplies and reaching Moscow and beyond, according to reports from Russian authorities.

The reports came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the situation along the front of Ukraine’s war with Russia was the best it had been in three months, with Moscow’s troops no longer advancing after their capture last month of the eastern city of Avdiivka.

Russian fuel facilities in Oryol and Nizhny Novgorod regions were on fire on Tuesday after drone attacks, local governors and media said. Air defence systems reacted to 25 drones launched by Ukraine over several Russian regions, RIA state news reported, citing Russia’s defence ministry. It was not immediately clear whether all the drones were destroyed.

“In the morning, the Kstovo industrial zone, a fuel and energy complex facility, was attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles,” Gleb Nikitin, governor of Nizhny Novgorod, said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that a fuel processing unit was on fire. RIA reported a fire at Lukoil’s refinery in Kstovo.

Nizhny Novgorod is nearly 1,000km from the Ukrainian border and lies about 400km to the east of Moscow.

Oryol’s governor, Andrey Klychkov, said Ukraine launched a drone attack at a fuel facility, while RIA cited emergency services as saying one petroleum tank was on fire after the attack. Oryol is about 150 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russian law enforcement, posted a photo of large flames rising above what appeared to be an industrial facility. The channel cited Oryol residents as saying there was an explosion before the fire.

Seven settlements in Russia’s Belgorod region that borders Ukraine were left without electricity after a Ukraine-launched drone dropped explosives, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod region.

Roman Starovoit, governor of the Kursk region which also borders Ukraine, said six Ukraine-launched drones were downed over his region, with emergency services checking for possible damage.

One drone flying towards Moscow was downed over the Ramensky district near the capital, said Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.

A drone was downed over Russia’s Tula region, which borders the Moscow region, and one over the southern Russia Voronezh regions, local Russian officials said.

Ukraine has in recent months launched attacks on Russian refineries and energy facilities, some of which have been successful and caused significant damage and stoppages. In January, two drones hit a fuel facility in the city of Oryol. A fire also broke out in the facility in February, although officials did not state a cause.

In an interview with France’s BFM television, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had improved its strategic position despite shortages of weaponry, but suggested the situation could change again if new supplies were not forthcoming.

“The situation is much better than it has been over the past three months,” Zelenskiy said in comments voiced over in French.

“We have had some difficulties because of shortages of artillery shells, an air blockade, Russian long range weapons and the great intensity of Russian drone attacks.

“We have worked in very efficient fashion … against Russian aviation. We have recovered in our situation in the east. The advance of Russian troops has been stopped,” he said.

With Reuters