Krasnodar region, Russia attacked by drones, oil refinery on fire

Photo: Krasnodar Krai was attacked on a large scale by UAVs, a fire broke out at an oil refinery (Getty Images)

During the night, unmanned combat aerial vehicles attacked the Krasnodar Krai in Russia. Hits and a fire at the Slavyansk ECO oil refinery near the town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban were recorded, according to the Telegram channel of the governor of the Krasnodar Krai, Veniamin Kondratiev.

He noted that over 10 drones were suppressed in the Slovyansk, Siversky, and Kushchevsky districts.

“They attempted to attack the oil refinery and infrastructure objects. According to reports from the scene, there are no casualties or serious damage. Emergency services are extinguishing fires caused by the drone crashes,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, according to Russian sources, around 5:00 am, explosions were heard in the outskirts of Slavyansk-on-Kuban, followed by a bright flash in the sky.

Local residents told the MASH Telegram channel that they had heard the sound of an engine in the sky before the incidents.

The Telegram channel VCHK-OGPU reports that drones targeted the Slavyansk-EKO oil refinery, a bitumen plant, the Ilsky oil refinery, and a number of other facilities.

The administration of the Slovyansk district in the Krasnodar Krai confirmed the drone attack on the local oil refinery.

“An unmanned aerial vehicle attacked the territory of the refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban. In total, there were 9 attacks on the tank farm and rectification column. Thanks to the built-in defense system, the tank farm was not damaged. The rectification column was damaged. The fire was extinguished by the responsible services, and there were no casualties,” the administration reported.

From open sources, it became known that the military airfield in the village of Kushchevskaya in the Krasnodar Krai also caught fire after a drone attack.

Attacks on Russian oil refineries

Over the past few months, there has been a surge in incidents of drone attacks on the infrastructure of oil refineries in various regions of Russia, as well as mysterious fires and explosions regularly occurring at enterprises producing goods for military purposes.

For instance, on April 25, a fire broke out at a facility on the Krasnoyarsk highway in Omsk. Three tanks containing petroleum products ignited.

During the night of April 20, debris from a downed drone caused a fire at the oil depot of the Lukoil company in the Smolensk region.

On the same day, Ukrainian special forces caused fires at several power substations and a fuel storage facility on Russian territory.

The Council of Europe has officially recognized Russian oil refineries as legitimate targets for Ukraine.