“New phase” in the region
Ukrainian drone sets fire to Russian oil storage facility
January 19, 2024, 11:51 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Ukraine is increasingly attacking targets in Russia. The southern Bryansk region reports another attack. A drone caused a 1,000 square meter fire in an oil storage facility. The military is able to repel the attack, but the transported ammunition still falls on the facility.
According to official information, a fire broke out in an oil storage facility in the western Russian region of Bryansk following a Ukrainian drone attack. The Russian air defense intercepted the missile on its approach using “radio-electronic means”, but the loaded explosives still fell on the oil facility in the city of Klintsy, wrote the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomas on Telegram. There was initially no official reaction from Kiev.
According to initial findings, there were no casualties as a result of the nighttime attack, Bryansk said. The fire spread over an area of 1,000 square meters over the course of the morning, as the Russian state news agency Tass reported a short time later, citing emergency services on site. That’s roughly equivalent to a seventh of a football field. According to Governor Bogomas, “a tank is burning in the federal government.” 13 tank fire engines with special units from the fire and rescue teams from the Russian Federation and Bryansk are in use.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against its neighboring country Ukraine for almost two years. As a result, Russian territory is repeatedly attacked – especially in the border region and against military targets and important Russian infrastructure. The number of victims and damage are disproportionate to the consequences of the war in the attacked Ukraine.
Two days ago, Russia intercepted Ukrainian missiles and drones in Bryansk, according to its Defense Ministry. The ministry said domestic air defense destroyed two tactical missiles and intercepted three drones in the area. And at the end of December, Bogomaz reported the downing of six Ukrainian drones.
“New phase”: Ukrainian drone flies to St. Petersburg
In addition, Ukraine says it has successfully used a drone in the northern Russian city of St. Petersburg. “Yes, this night we hit a target, and this piece flew exactly 1,250 kilometers,” said Industry Minister Olexander Kamyshin, who is responsible for armaments, at a public discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The drone used was produced in Ukraine and cost the equivalent of just over 320 euros, he told the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.
Ukrainian media, citing sources in military intelligence, had previously reported an attack on a fuel depot in the port of the northern Russian city of over a million inhabitants. According to Russian information, three drones were intercepted in time. There was no damage.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Andriy Yusov, spoke on television about a new quality of the weapon used and its range. “The enemy has reason to be concerned about its military facilities in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region,” he said. In Ukrainian military circles it was also said that the attack on the Russian metropolis was part of a “new phase” in the region.