Ukraine Destroys Oil Depot in Central Russia in Early Morning Drone Strike
Ukraine carried out an early morning drone strike on an oil depot in the city of Tambov in Central Russia on Friday, June 28, causing a small fire.
Knewz.com has learned that this is the second drone attack on Tambov this month, the first one being a few days prior.
Ukrainian drone strike on an oil depot in Tambov, Russia, caused a small fire. By: Russian Emergencies Ministry via The Moscow Times
Maxim Yegorov, the regional Governor of Tambov, wrote about the drone strike on Telegram, mentioning that the situation is currently under control.
"Today at 4.35 in the morning, a [Ukrainian drone attack] at the oil depot was recorded in the Michurinsky municipal district of the Tambov region. As a result, a small fire broke out," Yegorov wrote.
"There are no victims. The nearest village is 3 km away. If necessary, residents will be evacuated. Everything is ready for this. The situation is under control."
He added that the fire has since been contained, with the help of responders from "the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Tambov region, the fire brigade of the oil depot, and 11 firefighting units who promptly arrived at the scene."
Ukraine has been carrying out drone strikes targeting oil and energy infrastructure deep within Russian territory. By: MEGA
According to a report by Reuters, the oil depot targeted in Friday's strike was connected to Russia's Druzhba pipeline, one of the longest oil pipelines in the world capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil per day.
The Defense Ministry of Russia released a statement on Telegram saying Russian air defenses thwarted a total of 25 Ukrainian drones overnight on Friday. However, the statement did not mention the strike on Tambov.
"Russian Federation air defense duty intercepted and destroyed 12 UAVs over the territory of the Bryansk region, nine UAVs were destroyed over the territory of the Smolensk region, one UAV in the Voronezh region was destroyed, two UAVs in the Kursk region were destroyed, and one UAV in the Rostov region was intercepted," the statement read.
Alexander Bogomaz, the regional Governor of Bryansk, the area that reportedly saw the highest density of drones during the attempted overnight Ukrainian strike on Friday, reported via Telegram that falling debris from the downed drones partially destroyed the roof of an "administrative building."
The fire at the Tambov oil depot has since been brought under control. By: Pexels/ Bjørn Nielsen (Illustrative photo)
The drone strike on Tambov follows the prevalent Ukrainian trend of targeting oil and energy infrastructure deep within the Russian territory. The Central Russian city is located southeast of Moscow, over 200 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border.
A little over a week prior, Ukrainian drones attacked two oil and lubricant production facilities in Russia, one of which was located in Tambov.
Overnight on June 20, Volodymyr Zelensky's drones attacked a warehouse of the Tambovnefteprodukt plant in the Tambov Oblast, and the Enemskaya oil depot of LUKOIL-Yugnefteprodukt in Russia’s Adygea Republic of the northern Caucasus, causing raging fires at both sites.
A fire rages at one of the burning oil plants in Russia after the strike on June 20. By: Telegram/ Astra
Speaking to the Kyiv Post, an unnamed Ukrainian military source said at the time:
“The SBU’s [The Security Service of Ukraine] strikes on companies that work for the Russian military-industrial complex reduce the resources the enemy can use to wage war and force the aggressor country to spend money on restoring its infrastructure.”
“This is an additional burden on the Russian budget, which is already burdened by sanctions and other economic challenges. The service will continue to work in this [sector],” the source said.
Another Ukrainian news outlet, Oboz, claimed: “It is known that at the affected facilities the Russians processed and stored raw materials and finished products, which were subsequently used for the needs of the Russian army.”