Ukraine attacked a oil depot that supplies a military airfield in the Russian city of Engels. Both countries continue to trade drone strikes as the war approaches its fourth year.
Ukraine said on Wednesday that its forces had hit an oil depot used by the Russian air force hundreds of kilometers inside Russian territory.
The strike marks the latest in an escalating series of cross-border attacks on energy and military facilities on both sides.
“Ukrainian defense forces hit Russian oil depot in Engels” in the Saratov region, the Ukrainian general staff said in a statement.
The statement added: “The destruction of the oil depot creates serious logistical problems for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupants and significantly reduces their ability to strike at peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects.”
Ukraine’s presidential adviser Oleksandr Kamyshin said the military used Ukrainian-made long-range capabilities in the attack.
Engels residents hear explosion, state of emergency declared
Moscow later confirmed the strike. The Defense Ministry said that they had downed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 11 in the Saratov region. Authorities in the region said that the strikes had also caused significant fires at an industrial site.
Some Engels residents posted in a Telegram chat room that they had heard dozens of explosions.
“There are sufficient forces and resources to localize the fire,” Roman Busargin, the regional governor, posted on Telegram.
Busargin later said that two firefighters died tackling the blaze, which he said was the result of a Ukrainian drone attack. Busargin also declared a state of emergency in Engels.
At the same time, Kyiv said that its armed forces had down 63 Russian drones overnight. In the southern region of Kherson, at least two Ukrainians were killed and five wounded due to Russian shelling.
DW News
