Air defense forces shot down 70 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said this morning, quoted by TASS, BTA reports.
“Last night, from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Moscow (and Bulgarian) time, air defense assets on duty destroyed and intercepted 70 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territories of Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov and Volgograd regions, the Republic of Crimea and over the Black Sea,“ the statement said.
The assets of air defense and the Black Sea Fleet shot down 16 drones over Sevastopol, said Russian-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhaev. No damage was caused to facilities in the city, he added.
“The air defense forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation repelled a massive attack by unmanned aerial vehicles ... As a result of falling debris, fires of dry vegetation were recorded in a number of areas of the region, which were promptly extinguished by firefighting forces“, said a statement from the press service of Volgograd Region Governor Andrey Bocharov. The statement specified that there were no damaged residential buildings and no injuries.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up its drone attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure, targeting refineries and export pipelines after peace talks with Moscow stalled, Reuters notes.
“Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat“ was subjected to another terrorist drone attack. We are establishing the extent of the damage. All emergency services are working on the site, we are taking measures to extinguish the fire,“ the head of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, wrote on the “Telegram“ application.
Ukrainian drones attacked the same petrochemical complex, which is one of the largest in Russia, last week. It produces gasoline, diesel, kerosene and other petroleum products, as well as liquefied gases, butanol, polyethylene, polystyrene and ammonia.
Russia is experiencing shortages of some types of fuel as attacks limit refinery capacity and high interest rates mean private gas stations cannot afford to stock up on fuel, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian drones earlier this month also hit an oil refinery in the capital of Bashkortostan, Ufa, which is about 1,400 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
One person was killed and 18 injured in Ukrainian drone attacks in the Belgorod region yesterday, the governor of the Russian border region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said today, as quoted by TASS.
He noted that a 13-year-old girl was seriously injured but was still in stable condition. state.