Ukrainian drones hit a major gas processing plant in the Orenburg region of southern Russia overnight, causing a fire, the region's governor, Yevgeny Solntsev, and the Ukrainian military said, as quoted by the Associated Press, BTA reported.
The Orenburg gas processing plant, run by state-owned gas giant Gazprom and located in the region of the same name near the border with Kazakhstan, is part of a production and processing complex that is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world, with an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
According to Governor Solntsev, the drone strikes set fire to a workshop at the plant and damaged part of it. Solntsev added that there were no casualties. Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement today that a "major fire" had broken out at the plant in the Orenburg region and that one of its gas processing and purification plants had been damaged.
The same statement said that a separate drone strike had hit the Russian refinery in Novokuybyshevsk, in neighboring Orenburg region - Samara region, causing a fire and damaging its main processing equipment.
The Novokuybyshevsk facility, operated by Russian gas giant Rosneft, has an annual capacity of 4.9 million tons of oil and produces more than 20 types of petroleum products. Russian authorities have not yet officially confirmed Ukraine's claims and have not commented on the reports of damage.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement this morning that its air defense forces had shot down 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over Orenburg, 12 over Samara, and 11 over neighboring Saratov regions.
The Kazakh Energy Ministry added that gas supplies to the domestic market were not affected and continued in normal mode, without restrictions. Issues related to the processing of Karachaganak gas and the possible impact on oil production (oil is also produced at the field) are currently being discussed with the operators and production companies. An assessment of potential losses and subsequent actions will be announced later. The Kazakh Energy Ministry said it is in constant communication with the Russian side and the field operators, closely monitoring the situation.