Ukrainian Drones Strike Russian Oil Refineries for Second Consecutive Day, Causing Damage
MOSCOW—Ukraine carried out drone attacks on Russian oil refineries for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, resulting in a fire at Rosneft’s largest refinery. President Vladimir Putin described the attacks as an effort to disrupt the upcoming presidential election in Russia.
Both Russia and Ukraine have utilized drones to target critical infrastructure, military installations, and troop concentrations during their ongoing conflict that has lasted over two years. Kyiv has intensified its attacks on Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months.
Following the damage inflicted on Lukoil’s NORSI refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, Ukrainian drones targeted refineries in the Rostov and Ryazan regions, Russian officials confirmed.
In Ryazan, a drone attack caused a fire at Rosneft’s refinery, the seventh largest facility in Russia. Governor Pavel Malkov initially reported injuries but later confirmed that the fire had been extinguished.
In Rostov, the Novoshakhtinsk refinery was forced to cease operations due to a drone attack. There were no casualties, but the extent of the damage is being evaluated, stated regional governor Vasily Golubev.
Mr. Putin alleged that Kyiv was trying to disrupt the presidential election through these attacks, as per his remarks published on Wednesday.
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“The main goal, I have no doubt about it, is to—if not to disrupt the presidential elections in Russia—then at least somehow interfere with the normal process of expressing the will of citizens,” Mr. Putin told Russia’s RIA state news agency and Rossiya-1 state television in a wide-ranging interview.
Drone War
Russian media reported the destruction of around 60 drones over Russian territory in a span of a few hours on Wednesday.
Russia’s RIA state news agency revealed that four Ukrainian drones targeted the Ryazan plant in the early hours, resulting in a 175 square meter blaze.
Unverified video footage circulating on social media depicted a plume of black smoke rising above flames at the plant.
A drone was intercepted and destroyed by air defenses near the Kirishi refinery, Russia’s second-largest, located in the northern part of the country. According to Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad region’s governor, this incident did not impact the refinery’s operations.
