Another oil facility inside Russia reportedly caught fire on Wednesday in what Ukraine’s president claimed was the latest incident in his country. long range drone attack.
The facility is in Russia’s Perm region, located in the Ural Mountains, more than 1,500 kilometers (900 mi) from Ukraine. Ukraine’s security service, known as the SBU, said it had attacked a Russian oil pumping station near the city of Perm as part of efforts to target Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Russian media also reported the attack, although Perm Governor Dmitry Makhonin said only that a drone attacked an unspecified industrial facility, causing a fire.
Russian officials have not been forthcoming about Ukrainian claims that Kiev is conducting more long-range strikes and that its domestically developed drones are becoming increasingly accurate.
advanced drone technology This became a decisive feature of the battle as Russia’s larger forces pressed on invasion of more than four years His neighbor’s. Ukraine’s response has included a campaign to develop new drones for attack and defense.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday showing a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky over a rural area near a built-up area. Without specifying whether it was the alleged Perm attack or what was hit, Zelensky said Ukraine was expanding the range of its long-range strikes, calling it a new phase in efforts to limit Russia’s ability to wage war. depriving it of vital oil revenues.
It was not possible to independently verify the video.
The SBU claimed that most of the oil storage tanks at the facility, which it said is owned by Russia’s pipeline operator Transneft and is a key hub in the country’s oil transportation system, were burned. The claims could not be independently verified.
Zelensky thanked the SBU for the accuracy of his attacks.
“The straight line distance is more than 1,500 kilometers. We will continue to expand these limits,” he said.
This attack happened a day after the attack on Ukraine Tuapse Oil Refinery and the terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting the evacuation of locals and threatening what Russian President Vladimir Putin said could have “serious environmental consequences.” Local officials said the fire in Tuapse had been brought under control by Wednesday.
Ukraine has stepped up its long-range strike campaign against Russian oil facilities in an effort to block Moscow’s financial gains from US sanctions relief amid global supply curbs. iran warAccording to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
It says that Kiev is taking advantage of the weaknesses of Russia’s large territory.
“Ukrainian forces will continue to exploit Russia’s deep rear and the large strike surface of greatly expanded Russian air defenses to launch more frequent and larger attacks against Russian oil infrastructure and military assets, supported by increased Ukrainian domestic drone production,” the institute said late Tuesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday its air defenses intercepted 98 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian territories and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
After relying heavily on foreign military aid for years, Ukraine is now ready to export its favored drone technology.
Zelensky said Ukraine was producing a surplus of up to 50% in some types of weapons.
He said on Telegram late Tuesday that military cooperation with countries in the Middle East, the Gulf, Europe and the Caucasus is “already underway” with partners supporting Ukraine.
According to Zelensky, the deal includes the production and supply of drones and missiles, as well as software and technology.
He said Kiev has also submitted a proposal to the United States for cooperation on drones, defense systems and other types of weapons for use in the air, land and sea.
Meanwhile, regional officials said Russia had not reduced its own long-range attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas, damaging homes and infrastructure.
The regional prosecutor’s office said eight people were wounded in the overnight attack in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
A 60-year-old woman in the northeastern Sumy region died of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of an attack, officials said.
According to the local administration, in the southern Odessa region, Russian forces attacked Izmail, causing damage to infrastructure in the city. A building of the district hospital was damaged.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 154 of 171 drones launched by Russia overnight.
___
Watch AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
