Ukrainian long-range attack drones hit four oil refineries, radar stations and other military targets in Russia in a major attack early Friday, Ukraine’s military said.
The country has drastically stepped up its use of drones this year to attack Russian oil installations, which it considers legitimate military targets and which are supplying Vladimir Putin’s troops.
“Unmanned aerial vehicles attacked the Afipsky, Ilsky, Krasnodar and Astrakhan oil refineries,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement on Telegram.
The Russian military previously said it had shot down 70 drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, 43 drones over the Krasnodar region and one more over the Volgograd region on Friday.
A Kiev intelligence source told Reuters that the Afipsky, Ilsky and Krasnodar oil refineries produced fuel for the Russian Black Sea Fleet and that the drone operation was carried out in conjunction with the SBU security service.
“The damage to these refineries will significantly complicate the logistics of supplying fuel oil, making it more expensive and time-consuming, as it will have to be delivered by other refineries,” the source claimed.
The Ukrainian military noted that it also attacked radar stations and electronic intelligence centers in the Bryansk region and occupied Crimea. However, they did not say exactly what these locations were.
Drone storage and launch sites and command and control centers in Russia’s Krasnodar region were also hit, the statement highlighted, adding that they confirmed explosions and fires at those facilities.
The source said the drone attack targeted a training center in the city of Yeisk in the Krasnodar region used by Russia to launch drone strikes against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military, in its statement, also claimed responsibility for Thursday’s drone strikes carried out on fuel depots in Russia’s Tambov and Adygeya regions.
Friday’s drone strike comes after Russia carried out airstrikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, which caused blackouts and raised questions about how the country’s power grid will hold up this winter.
Russian attacks on the Ukrainian power grid have caused significant damage to power generation capacity since March. Moscow said some of the attacks were retaliation for Ukraine’s offensive into Russian territory.
Source: CNN Brasil
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