Drone attacks targeted several oil infrastructures in southern Russia on Friday, sparking a fire at a refinery in the Krasnodar region, authorities said, reporting the destruction of 376 Ukrainian drones overnight.
• Also read: Four dead in Ukraine, five in Russia and occupied territory after night strikes
• Also read: Ukrainian attacks kill three in Russia and Crimea, fuel depot on fire
“As a result of falling drone debris, a fire broke out at the Ilskii refinery,” the operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said on Telegram, specifying that there were no casualties.
The governor of the Rostov region, Yuri Slioussar, also in southern Russia, said two hydrocarbon storage facilities in Azov had caught fire following strikes.
These new attacks on oil infrastructure come at a time when the country is experiencing fuel supply difficulties, which are particularly severe in the neighboring Crimean peninsula.
Between 8 p.m. local time on Thursday and 7 a.m. Friday, Russian forces destroyed 376 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Max messaging.
Russia continues to strike Ukraine almost daily, more than four years after the start of the war, the worst conflict in Europe since the Second World War, so far without a diplomatic outcome.
Ukraine has also intensified its strikes on Russian territory, sometimes very far from the border, particularly targeting hydrocarbon transport and storage infrastructure in an attempt to dry up Moscow’s capacity to finance its war effort.
