KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian long-range attack drones struck four Russian oil refineries as well as radar stations and other military targets in Russia in an offensive early on Friday, the Ukrainian military said.
“Drones attacked oil refineries in Afipsky, Ilsky, Krasnodar and Astrakhan,” the army said in a statement posted on the messaging app Telegram.
It had previously announced that it had shot down 70 drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, 43 drones over the Russian region of Krasnodar and another aircraft over the Russian region of Volgograd during the day of Friday.
According to a Kyiv intelligence source, the Afipsky, Ilsky and Krasnodar oil refineries produce fuel for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The offensive targeting them was carried out jointly with the Ukrainian security service SBU, this source added to Reuters.
“The damage to these refineries will significantly complicate the logistics of fuel oil supply, making it more expensive and time-consuming, since it will have to be delivered by other refineries,” the source said.
The Ukrainian military says it has also targeted radar stations and electronic intelligence centers in the Bryansk region and occupied Crimea. The press release does not specify the exact nature of these sites.
Drone storage and launch sites, as well as command and control centers in Russia’s Krasnodar region were also hit, the statement said, adding that explosions and fires were confirmed at these facilities.
The interviewed source said the drone attack targeted a training center in the town of Yeysk, Krasnodar region, used by Russia to launch drone attacks against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army also claims responsibility for drone attacks carried out on Thursday against fuel depots in the Russian regions of Tambov and Adygea.
(Written by Anastasiia Malenko and Tom Balmforth, French version Alban Kacher, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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