WATCH aftermath of Ukrainian drone attack on Russian oil refinery
Videos online have captured a fire that broke out at an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan Region following a major overnight Ukrainian drone raid.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses and military aircraft shot down four Flamingo cruise missiles and 69 fixed-wing drones between 4 AM and 7 AM local time on Thursday. The blaze was caused by the debris of a fallen UAV, it added.
The attack came as Ukraine continued its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure for a second consecutive day, with two oil refineries – in Ryazan and Saratov Regions – being targeted by UAVs on Wednesday, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak.
The Russian military has warned that it will respond in kind to the strikes by Ukraine. Novak earlier said that Kiev had shown no signs of moving towards an energy truce, which US President Donald Trump is trying to broker.
On Thursday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said Kiev will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries after a three-day pause he introduced under pressure from Trump.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later in the day that “in fact, there was no moratorium on the part of Ukraine. Strikes on our oil refineries and energy facilities continued throughout this whole period. Therefore, there is nothing new here.”
The Trump administration’s “active attempts” to settle the Ukraine conflict “are being crushed by the unwillingness of the Kiev regime and Zelensky, in particular, to agree to peace,” Peskov added.
