Ukraine confirms attacks on oil facilities, military depot in Russia

Ukrainian strike caused fire at oil depot in Rostov region, while another oil facility some 1,500km from Ukrainian border was also targeted

Displaced Russians from the Kursk border regions register at a temporary aid point to receive humanitarian aid and temporary accommodation, in Kursk, Russia. Photograph: Nanna Heitmann/The New York Times

Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had attacked an artillery depot and two oil storage facilities in Russia, causing a fire on Wednesday at the Atlas oil depot in the southern Rostov region.

The military said it had also attacked the Zenit oil facility in Russia’s Kirov region, some 1,500km (930 miles) northeast of the border with Ukraine. A field artillery depot in the Russian region of Voronezh was also attacked, it added in the same message on the Telegram app.

Russian authorities said on Wednesday Ukrainian drones had caused a fire at a Rostov oil depot and did not report any casualties, while Kirov regional governor Alexander Sokolov said a drone attack on an oil products depot in the town of Kotelnich did not cause a blaze or any casualties.

In Voronezh, which borders Ukraine, governor Alexander Gusev said debris from a Ukrainian drone had caused a fire to break out “near explosive objects” but they did not explode.

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Kyiv says its attacks aim to destroy energy, transport and military infrastructure key to Moscow's war effort.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war launched by Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Ukrainian forces destroyed 60 out of 74 Russian attack drones and two out of three missiles launched overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Thursday.

“Aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force and Defence Forces were involved in repelling the air attack,” it said on the Telegram messaging app.

One civilian was killed and another two were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod region, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Thursday.

Russia’s Monday drone and missile attack forced Ukraine to disconnect several nuclear power units from the grid, a Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday.

The mission said in a note to the IAEA that Russia continued to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, intending to disrupt the operation of its nuclear power plants and posing a significant risk to the stable operation of nuclear facilities. – Reuters