Russia's war in Ukraine
Fire broke out a petroleum plant in southwestern Russia on Wednesday night after a drone attack, according to a regional governor — the third apparent Ukrainian strike on a Russian fuel depot in two days.
The drone crashed into the construction site of an overpass at the Novoshakhtinsk plant near the village of Kiselevka, Rostov Gov. Vasily Golubev said on Telegram on Thursday.
Staff at the plant immediately extinguished the fire, he added.
No casualties or injuries were reported and the strike caused little damage to the facilities, Golubev said.
It is unclear who is responsible for the alleged attack.
Oil targeted: According to Russian state media and officials, the alleged attack is the third such strike launched by Ukraine against fuel depots inside Russian territory in the past two days.
A fire broke out at the Ilsky oil refinery in the southwestern Krasnodar region, caused by "an attack by an unknown drone," state-run news agency Tass reported earlier Thursday. There were no casualties, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratiev.
And on Wednesday, Russian state media reported a drone strike ignited a fire that engulfed an oil storage facility in the port of Volna, also in Krasnodar.
That facility is close to the Kerch bridge that was set ablaze by Ukrainian forces in October 2022. It is unclear how the fuel storage tank caught fire.
Ukraine has not commented on the incidents.
Some context: CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh writes that Ukraine is apparently striking at fuel depots in Russian-occupied areas and inside Russia itself — seemingly precise attacks but ones to which Kyiv is making no overt claim.
Increased cross-border attacks from both Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks appear to be an attempt to weaken each other ahead of a long anticipated spring offensive.
Source: CNN
