Ukraine was behind an attack that sparked a huge inferno at an oil depot in western Russia on Friday, a source in the Ukrainian security services told AFP.
The strike is the second on a Russian oil depot in as many days after Kyiv claimed another attack on an oil storage facility in the northern Leningrad region of Russia on Thursday.
Kyiv has targeted Russian oil and gas infrastructure throughout the almost two-year conflict, attacks they argue are fair retaliation for strikes on Ukrainian territory.
Friday’s attack targeted a depot in the town of Klintsy, some 70 kilometers (about 45 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The strike was an operation carried out by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, a Ukrainian security source confirmed to AFP without elaborating.
Social media footage showed a massive cloud of black smoke billowing over the Klintsy facility following the attack, which Russian officials said was a drone strike.
The Russians still have not been able to put out the fire at the oil depot in Klintsy, Bryansk region
Now the fire area has grown to 1 thousand square meters, all four tanks with gasoline are burning. A fire train has already arrived at the site.
Local authorities reported that… pic.twitter.com/LmG9Q3bnXx
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 19, 2024
Russia said it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the region, but before it was intercepted it managed to drop “munitions” on the depot, sparking the fire.
There were no casualties, but 13 fire trucks were deployed to battle the flames, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said.
A train especially equipped to deal with large fires was also scrambled to the town to help battle the blaze, a local train operator said.
“The fire will not affect rail traffic in Klintsy,” it said.
On Thursday, Ukraine claimed responsibility for a rare drone attack in the northern Leningrad region, nearly 1,000 kilometers (around 620 miles) from the border.
