Ukrainian drones carried out an overnight attack on an oil facility in Russia’s Oryol region that is a crucial source of fuel supplies for Russian troops, Ukraine’s military said. The drones hit the Steel Horse production control station, which lies about 170 km from the border with Ukraine, a military statement said.
Earlier, Russian regional governor Andrei Klychko said on social media that Ukrainian drones had struck a fuel infrastructure facility, causing a fire but no casualties. He said 11 drones had been shot down over the region.
The Oryol region neighbours Russia’s Kursk region where Ukrainian troops control some settlements after Kyiv’s incursion into the Russian territory in August.
Ukraine has stepped up its use of drones this year to attack Russian oil facilities, which it deems legitimate military targets that are aiding Russian troops in their nearly 34-month-old invasion. Moscow calls the attacks “terrorist acts”.
A Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at an oil depot in the Kamensky district in Rostov region in southern Russia in late August. That attack had come just days after an attack on fuel storage tanks at another oil depot in Rostov’s Proletarsk district.
Rostec, a Russian state-owned corporation, stated earlier this year that it has successfully conducted trials of armoured plating for key infrastructure projects. The armour is specifically designed to protect against drone attacks, grenades and gunfire.
Rostec said each plate weighed 30 kilogrammes and that such plates could potentially be fitted on oil and gas storage facilities, ammo depots and energy infrastructure.
Russian companies have been working to devise ways of protecting infrastructure from such drone attacks and, in some cases, say they have deployed giant meshed metal nets to cover oil refineries. A Russian energy ministry official told a parliament meeting in March there were also plans to defend oil and gas facilities with missile systems.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
