Ukrainian drones reportedly strike oil refinery in Russia's Samara Oblast
The first explosions occurred around 3 a.m. local time, according to local residents. A fire broke out at the facility as a result.
Samara Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev later said that drones attacked "one of the Syzran industrial enterprises" without providing more details. Russian forces downed drones, and there were no casualties, Fedorishchev claimed.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims.
The Syzran Oil Refinery, lying around 700 kilometers (430 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border, was opened in 1942 and belongs to the Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft.
The refinery has a capacity of 8.9 million tons of oil per year. It produces fuel, aviation kerosene, and bitumen, as well as processes crude oil from Western Siberia and Samara Oblast, according to Kovalenko.
Drones earlier attacked the Syzran Oil Refinery on Feb. 19.
Ukraine considers Russian oil facilities to be valid military targets, as fossil fuel profits supply Moscow's war machine. The Ukrainian military has launched repeated attacks against Russian refineries with long-range drones.
Read also: BREAKING: Trump halts military aid to Ukraine, Bloomberg reports
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