Russia’s Defence Ministry says its air defenses shot down 376 Ukrainian drones overnight, some of them heading for the Moscow region. Not everything was stopped. Local officials in southern Russia reported fires at an oil refinery, fuel depots and a port on Friday, and residents were evacuated from affected areas.
In Krasnodar Krai, the Ilsky refinery caught fire after drone debris came down across the Severskaya district. Fragments landed in the courtyard of a private home, according to the regional operational headquarters, which posted on Telegram. The refinery can process around 138,000 barrels of oil a day and has been attacked several times before.
Rostov region
Next door in the Rostov region, firefighters fought blazes at two fuel depots in the Azov district and at the Taganrog sea port, Governor Yury Slyusar wrote on Telegram. The Kyiv Post said early reports pointed to the Kurgannefteprodukt oil terminal in Taganrog, which loads and unloads petroleum products onto ships.
Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova said residents were evacuated from homes near the affected areas. A private house was damaged and the roof of an administrative building caught fire.
One caveat applies to all of this. Russian authorities often blame fires after drone raids on debris from intercepted aircraft, while Ukrainian and independent accounts frequently describe the same incidents as direct hits.
Fuel shortages
The strikes follow an admission from President Vladimir Putin. Last month he acknowledged that the repeated attacks were causing fuel shortages across Russia. He said a task force was working to ease them, and described the problems as “not of a critical nature.”
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy and other infrastructure over recent months, aiming to weaken Moscow’s ability to pay for its war. Repeated hits on refineries have contributed to long lines at filling stations and higher prices around the country, according to DW.
Kyiv calls the strikes retaliation for Russia’s near-daily attacks on Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Sources
- Ukrainian drone strikes ignite fires at Russian oil sites
- TRT World – Russia says it downed 376 Ukrainian drones as strikes ignite fires at oil facilities
