The strike targeted the Kirishi refinery in Russia's northwestern Leningrad region and is part of a series of Ukrainian strikes that have targetted Russian oil infrastructure, which Kyiv says is bankrolling the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian oil giant Surgutneftegas-owned plant is capable of producing close to 18 million metric tonnes of crude every year, and is one of Russia's top three plants in terms of production.
There were explosions and blaze reported from the Kirishi refinery by Ukraine's General Staff. It posted a picture of what appears to be a blaze and smoke plumes against a black sky.
Russian officials report that they destroyed over 80 Ukrainian drones in the airspace of the nation early Sunday morning.
Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko affirmed that three drones were destroyed over the region of Kirishi, and attributes the fire as being caused by the impact of the falling objects. Drozdenko further stated that no civilians were injured or killed from the attacks, and the fire was also put out.
Russian authorities did not comment nevertheless on how much damage the plant incurred.
The assault also follows barely a day after US President Donald Trump doubled down on previous threats of dire consequences for nations that continue to buy Russian oil.
On Saturday, Trump threatened Washington's allies at the NATO with tariffs between 50 to 100 percent, in case such buys cease.
The 47th US president says that one has to throttle what he declared as one of the key funding sources of Russia's war against Ukraine in order to bring the Kremlin to the negotiating table.
Trump already met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month to talk about how to follow through on his campaign promise to end the war but has become increasingly impatient with the rate of progress.
Russia remains the world's second-largest oil exporter, but a seasonal spike in demand and relentless Ukrainian drone strikes have created gasoline shortages in recent weeks.
Gas pumps have been drained in some areas of the nation, drivers queuing for hours and officials resorting to rationing or completely halting sales.
As a way of reducing the shortage, Russia halted gasoline exports, with officials announcing Wednesday a full ban until 30 September and a partial ban on intermediaries and traders until 31 October.
Source: Euronews
0 Comments