Strikes on two fuel storage and pumping bases in the Smolensk region, about 500 km from the border with Ukraine. The attacks on facilities owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft resulted in the loss of 26,000 cubic meters of Russian fuel, the official said.
“After strong explosions, a large-scale fire started in the buildings and the evacuation of personnel,” they continued.
Smolensk Governor Vasiliy Anokhin confirmed that Ukrainian drones had hit energy facilities in the region, later adding that there were no casualties, but that Russian emergency services needed to deploy three fire engines to put out the resulting fires.
“The fires were caused by an enemy attack on civilian fuel and energy facilities in the Smolensky and Yartsevki districts,” Anokhin said in a Telegram statement. “The fire is localized, there is no danger of it spreading outside the buildings,” added Anokhin.
Since the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian media have counted 13 attacks on oil refineries in nine regions of Russia.
“We have already reduced the production and processing of oil in Russia by 12%. We continue to work, and the country of the gas station is still burning,” Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine's security services, told Ukrainian media in March.
The Russian government imposed a six-month fuel export ban that began on March 1 and will last until August 31.
