Ukraine said on Wednesday it had carried out a nighttime drone attack on a major Russian refinery in the Ryazan region, located in western Russia, nearly 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
This new attack took place against a backdrop of tensions with Washington which in recent months has criticized, according to media reports, kyiv’s strikes against energy installations located on Russian soil and asked it to put an end to them.
“A drone was used to strike the Ryazan refinery,” a source within the Ukrainian special services told Agence France-Presse.
Local media reported explosions and a fire at this refinery owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft which, according to its website, has a capacity of 17 million tonnes of oil per year.
The regional governor, Pavel Malkov, confirmed on Telegram a “drone attack”, but without giving further details, specifying that there were no victims according to preliminary information.
Ukraine, whose army is in difficulty on the front facing Russian forces, has increased drone attacks in recent months against refineries and oil depots in Russia, aimed at disrupting the country’s production capacities.
Since the start of its invasion, Russia has systematically struck civilian sites in Ukraine, starting with its energy infrastructure.
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