ALBAWABA - Governor Dmytro Lunin said on Wednesday that Russia has targeted an oil refinery facility in the central Poltava region of Ukraine in an overnight drone attack, causing a fire.
"Last night, Russians repeatedly attacked the Poltava region. Our air defense system did a good job against enemy UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)," said Lunin. He also said that refinery operations have been temporarily stopped, adding that there was no information about casualties.
According to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, air defense systems shot down 17 of the 24 drones launched by Russia against Ukrainian targets. Since Moscow launched its invasion last year, the Kremenchuk refinery has been subjected to several Russian air attacks.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian authorities announced that their air defenses intercepted four Ukrainian drones. The plane was shot down over Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, and the Oryol region, which is closer to Moscow, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence, with no damage or injuries reported by local officials.
A drone attack was also suspected in a fire involving a large fuel storage tank early Wednesday morning near an airport in the Russian Black Sea town of Sochi.
The governor of the Krasnodar area, Veniamin Kondratyev, said preliminary information indicated no casualties. "The reasons for the incident are being investigated" he added.
A drone may have been involved in the fire that burned the 1,200 tonnes of fuel, according to a Russian news site, which said that a loud explosion was heard before the fuel tank exploded in flames.
Following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's threat that his forces would bring the war in Ukraine back to Russia, Kyiv has increased drone and missile raids deep within Russia and Russian-controlled territory in recent months.
