MOSCOW – Ukrainian drones attacked a fuel depot at an iron processing plant in the Russian border region of Kursk Wednesday, triggering a fire in a fuel tank, the regional governor said.
“The Kursk region was attacked by Ukraine. A drone attacked a fuel and lubricants depot,” Kursk governor Roman Starovoyt said in a video message posted on his Telegram channel.
Two hours later he said a second drone had struck the depot on the site of the Mikhailovsky Mining and Processing Plant in the city of Zheleznogorsk, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
The attack made a fuel tank catch fire but did not result in any casualties, he added.
Kyiv has launched a wave of drone attacks at Russian energy facilities in recent months, trying to target the country’s vital energy and gas sector that it says Russia uses to fuel its military offensive.
In a message published at 10:45 am local time, governor Starovoyt warned Zheleznogorsk residents of possible future incoming attacks and ordered people to “take shelter in rooms without windows and with solid walls.”
“If you are on the street, go to the nearest building, underpass or parking lot,” he said.
The Russian governor of the neighboring Belgorod region also said Ukraine had fired artillery and drones overnight. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said there was some damage, but no casualties from the attacks.
Russia’s defense ministry said it had downed Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod and Voronezh regions.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said Wednesday its air defense systems had intercepted dozens of Iran-designed attack drones launched by Russian forces in an overnight barrage that left seven people injured. AFP
Kyiv has appealed to its Western allies to help bolster its air defences to fend off systematic Russian aerial attacks on key infrastructure throughout the two-year invasion.
“As a result of combat operations, 38 Shaheds were shot down,” the air force said in a statement referring to the unmanned aerial vehicles, adding that the drones were launched from Russian border regions and the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said seven people including a 10-year-old boy were injured during the overnight attacks in the eastern Sumy region.
Officials in the southern Odesa region said a recreational facility, a gas pipeline and residential buildings were damaged by debris from the downed drones.
In the Khmelnytsky region, officials said an “infrastructure object” was damaged and some residents were left without electricity.