Ukrainian drone strikes Russian oil depot in second attack on facilities
A significant fire has erupted at an oil storage depot in southern Russia, reportedly caused by a Ukrainian drone attack, according to Russian officials. The incident occurred in the Bryansk region, where four oil tanks caught fire, leading to flames spreading across an area spanning 1,000 square meters.
Fortunately, authorities confirm that no injuries resulted from the attack. The Bryansk governor revealed that the drone was intercepted near the town of Klintsy, and its explosives subsequently fell onto the oil depot. This marks the second drone strike on Russian oil facilities within a two-day span.
The previous day witnessed an unprecedented attack on a major oil loading terminal in St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city. While initial Russian reports indicated that the drone was neutralized without causing damage, indications from Kyiv suggested a shift in strategic tactics, given the distance from the Ukrainian border. Ukraine’s Strategic Industries Minister, Oleksandr Kamyshin, acknowledged the strike, emphasizing the drone’s remarkable journey of 1,250 kilometers.
Russia’s defense ministry reported the downing of a Ukrainian drone over Bryansk, with subsequent destruction of two more drones without causing harm. Meanwhile, a fire at the Klintsy oil depot, situated approximately 70 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border, led to the evacuation of over 30 individuals and billowing black smoke over nearby railway tracks. Reports also surfaced of a drone strike on a gunpowder factory near Tambov, hundreds of kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border.
Sources from Ukraine’s main intelligence directorate affirmed plans for additional attacks on military targets within Russia, citing a concentration of Russian air defense and electronic warfare systems in occupied parts of Ukraine. As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine faces resistance, the defense ministry claimed the capture of the village of Vesele, close to Bakhmut in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. However, Kyiv has not confirmed this assertion.
Despite warnings of ammunition shortages, Ukraine aims to produce a million drones domestically this year, with Minister Kamyshin highlighting the affordability of such weaponry. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius added his voice to concerns, cautioning that Russia might expand its conflict with Ukraine to a NATO member state in the coming years. This comes as NATO prepares for its largest exercise since the Cold War, involving 90,000 troops and all member states, amid rising tensions and warnings from Swedish officials to prepare for the possibility of war. A report from the German Council on Foreign Relations last October emphasized the need for NATO to remain vigilant, as it suggested Moscow could reconstitute its armed forces in as little as six to 10 years post-intense fighting in Ukraine.
