In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, firefighters work at the scene of an oil reservoir fire in Azov district of Rostov-on-Don region of Russia. Vasily Golubev, the governor of the Rostov region, said that a Ukrainian drone attack caused the fire at the oil reservoir. The Emergencies Ministry said over 70 firefighters are fighting the blaze that covers the area of 5,000 square meters. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, firefighters work at the scene of an oil reservoir fire in Azov district of Rostov-on-Don region of Russia. Vasily Golubev, the governor of the Rostov region, said that a Ukrainian drone attack caused the fire at the oil reservoir. The Emergencies Ministry said over 70 firefighters are fighting the blaze that covers the area of 5,000 square meters. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine claimed responsibility Tuesday for an overnight drone attack on a Russian oil facility that started a massive blaze in the latest long-range strike by Kyiv’s forces on a border region.
Ukraine has in recent months on Russian soil, targeting refineries and oil terminals in an effort to slow down the Kremlin’s war machine. Moscow’s army is pressing hard along the front line in eastern Ukraine, where a shortage of troops and ammunition in the third year of war has .
The attack set fire to an oil reservoir in Russia’s Rostov region and more than 200 firefighters were at the scene, according to Rostov Gov. Vasily Golubev.
The blaze covered an area of 5,000 square meters (55,000 square feet) but there were no casualties, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said.
A Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give the information to the media, said the attack was a special operation of Ukraine’s Security Service, known as SBU. The drones targeted two Rostov oil depots that have 22 oil reservoirs, the official said.
It was not possible to independently confirm the claim.
Kyiv officials normally decline comment about attacks on Russian territory, though they sometimes refer obliquely to them.
Ukrainian drone developers have been for months, as Kyiv attempts to compensate for its battlefield disadvantage. The unmanned aerial vehicles are also an affordable option while Ukraine waits for the arrival of more Western military aid.
