According to Reuters, Ukrainian forces said Wednesday that they had carried out their second successful drone attack on Russia’s energy infrastructure in less than a week. They say they damaged an oil refinery deep inside Russian territory.
The Ukrainian military said the overnight drone attack significantly damaged a Lukoil depot about 500 miles from the front lines of the war. Videos on social media purported to show the oil facility burning in the strike’s aftermath.
Russia: Giant oil refinery struck by Ukrainian drones in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region. It had a refining capacity of 17 million tons per year, accounting for over 6% of Russia's total refining output.
Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez is located 800km from Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/lS37wal3sV— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) January 29, 2025
Russian officials also reported a massive drone attack by Ukrainian forces, claiming that one Ukrainian drone had been shot down when it attempted to strike a nuclear power facility. Overall, Moscow claimed its forces shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones. Wednesday’s strike came days after Ukrainian drones separately hit Russia’s Ryazan refinery.
Local officials reported that up to three kamikaze drones struck several residential high-rises in Kazan on Saturday morning. Several news outlets have published what appear to be video clips shot by eyewitnesses.
Earlier on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said on its own Telegram channel that its air defenses had shot down one “Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the Republic of Tatarstan,” of which Kazan is the capital. The city administration later cited the statement.
Regional Gov. Vasily Anokhin wrote on Telegram:
“According to preliminary information, one of the drones was shot down during an attempted attack on a nuclear power facility,” Anokhin stated, without naming the facility. Some reports indicate that debris fell near the Smolenskaya Nuclear Power Plant.
No casualties or damage were immediately reported, the governor said. He urged residents to stay calm and avoid open spaces as authorities addressed the situation.
Kiev has repeatedly engaged in “energy and nuclear terrorism” against Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in its Tuesday report on war crimes by the Ukrainian regime.
I’m unsure what the point is in this constant back-and-forth with no advancement by Ukraine. It risks World War III.
#Ukraine attacks Russian nuclear facility using drones; #VladimirPutin fumes
Watch for more details pic.twitter.com/jHYQvCcmdE
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) January 29, 2025
Ukraine launches a massive 104 drone strike near nuclear power plant in the western region of Smolensk, Russia.
People in Kyiv should take cover. Putin is probably going to retaliate in a big way if this is the last “dick measuring competition”
— The Great Gats (@TheGr8_GatsBee) January 29, 2025
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