A significant oil storage depot in southern Russia is engulfed in flames after being reportedly hit by a Ukrainian drone, marking the second such attack on Russian oil facilities in two days. According to Russian officials in the Bryansk region, the drone was intercepted near Klintsy, and its explosives subsequently caused a fire at the oil depot, with four oil tanks ablaze and the fire spreading over a 1,000 sq m area.
This incident follows a drone attack on a major oil loading terminal in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city, just a day earlier. While Russian reports claimed the drone was shot down without causing damage, Ukrainian authorities suggested that the attack, occurring far from the Ukrainian border, signifies a new strategic phase.
Ukraine’s Strategic Industries Minister, Oleksandr Kamyshin, confirmed the drone strike, emphasizing its considerable range of 1,250km (776 miles). Russia’s defence ministry reported the downing of a Ukrainian drone over Bryansk, with two additional drones destroyed without causing damage.
As the fire rages at the Klintsy oil depot, located approximately 70km north of the Ukrainian border, more than 30 people have been evacuated, and reports indicate a drone strike on a gunpowder factory near Tambov, hundreds of kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine’s main intelligence directorate hinted at further attacks on military targets inside Russia, citing concentration of Russian air defence and electronic warfare systems in occupied parts of Ukraine. Despite Russia’s limited progress in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it claimed to have captured the village of Vesele near Bakhmut, an assertion yet to be confirmed by Kyiv.
Ukraine, facing ammunition shortages, aims to produce a million drones domestically this year. The cost-effective nature of the drone used in the St Petersburg attack, priced at $350, underscores Ukraine’s strategic approach.
Meanwhile, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warns of potential Russian expansion, stating that Russia might seek to escalate the conflict to a NATO member state in the next five to eight years. In response, NATO commanders announce the largest exercise since the Cold War, involving 90,000 troops from all 31 member states and Sweden.
The heightened tensions underscore the complex dynamics of the conflict, with military strategies evolving on both sides and the international community closely monitoring developments.
