Ukraine has staged its biggest kamikaze onslaught of the war as it blasted at least nine Russian regions. Two of Vladimir Putin’s oil refineries went up in flames after being bombarded overnight. The strikes sparked at an oil depot in the Oryol region.
Footage showed an inferno at a Lukoil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod region – 275 miles east of Moscow – after oil tanks exploded at the Kstovo facility.
Regional governor Gleb Nikitin said: “In the morning, the Kstovo industrial zone, a fuel and energy complex facility, was attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles”.
Operations at the oil refinery – one of the largest in Russia – have been suspended following the strike.
Meanwhile, another oil plant was blasted in the Oryol region – sparking a huge blaze after a drone exploded at around 3am.
Regional governor Andrei Klychkov said: “The fuel and energy complex facility was attacked.
“The special services are working on the spot to localise the fire. “There are no casualties.”
In the Kursk region – which borders Ukraine – residents reported new explosions. Officials initially claimed five Ukrainian drones had been shot down.
In the Tula region, Russian authorities claimed a drone was downed. In the border region Belgorod, seven settlements were left without electricity after a drone strike.
In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that a drone was shot down in the Ramenskoye urban district. He said it was “flying towards Moscow, ” denying any destruction.
Russian air defence claimed to have shot down 25 drones overnight.
A statement said: “Air defence systems intercepted and destroyed two UAVs over the territories of the Moscow region, one in the Leningrad region, seven in the Belgorod region, 11 in the Kursk region, one in the Bryansk region, one in the Tula region, and two in the Oryol region.”
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian oil facilities in recent weeks, vital for supporting Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine. As a result, Russia has been forced to temporarily suspend gasoline exports.
Since the start of this year, Ukraine has hit oil depots and gas terminals in regions Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Leningrad regions, Krasnodar Territory, St. Petersburg, and now Oryol and Nizhny Novgorod.
Energy facilities in occupied Crimea were also attacked. Russian sources also reported an attempt from Ukraine to break into the Belgorod region.
Two Majors Telegram channel reported: “In the morning three enemy armoured personnel carriers tried to break through the border in the southeast of the Grayvoronsky urban district.
“The enemy’s equipment was destroyed.”
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