KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian drones attacked Russia on Sunday for the second time in just over a week as part of a “large-scale” cross-border attack on fuel and energy, according to a senior Russian regional official. Attacked a major fuel depot. A facility that Kiev claims supplies Moscow's military.
The airstrike came days after Russia launched a sweeping assault on Ukraine's already battered energy grid. Thousands of families are feared to be plunged into darkness as winter tightens its grip on the region, marking the third anniversary of Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbour.
A fire broke out at the Stalnoy-Kon oil terminal in Russia's southern Oryol region, local governor Andrei Klychkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, saying the Russian military had launched 20 drones targeting the region's “fuel and energy infrastructure.” He added that the plane had been shot down.
Russia's independent news agency Astra said an explosion had occurred at the scene and shared footage of a massive orange flame lighting up the night sky. The clip could not be independently verified, but was later shared by Ukrainian security officials and described as being from Oryol.
The fire was extinguished after several hours and there were no casualties or “significant” damage, local governor Kriuchkov said.
The Ukrainian military previously claimed it attacked the Stalnoy Conterminal with a drone on December 14, sparking a “powerful” fire.
Local governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported that Russia fired a drone into southern Ukraine's Kherson region late Saturday, killing two civilians. He said a Russian drone dropped an explosive nearby, fatally wounding a man in his late 40s. Hours later, another drone crashed into her home and a woman was found dead under the rubble.
A Russian drone attack seriously injured a 56-year-old man walking on a road in the city of Kupiansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, local governor Oleh Sinievov said. As a result, he said the man would have to have at least one limb amputated, but did not go into further details.
Debris from a Russian drone sparked a fire on the roof of a 25-story skyscraper in the Kyiv suburb of Vrovary late Saturday, regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Overnight on Sunday, Russia fired 103 Iranian-made Shahed drones into the neighboring country, Ukraine's air force said. Ukraine's air defense forces shot down 52 drones, but another 44 failed to reach their targets, the military said in a statement, likely citing electronic jamming.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that Russian forces intercepted 42 Ukrainian drones launched over Russian territory overnight. The ministry said 20 of them were over the Oryol region, where the local governor announced that the fire had destroyed an oil terminal.
Separately, Russian forces continue to advance in northeastern Ukraine, including advances near the eastern town of Krahov. On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian troops had captured two settlements: Lozova in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Krasne in the Luhansk region. There was no immediate confirmation from Kyiv.
