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The Independent
31-01-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Ukraine launches second major drone attack against Russian oil refineries in a week
Ukraine has launched its second major drone attack in a week against Russian oil refineries hundreds of miles from its borders. Drone strikes were reported by local officials across seven Russian regions as footage appeared on social media showing explosions and fires at the Lukoil refinery in the southern Volgograd area. It is more than 260 miles from the nearest Ukrainian forces. Intelligence sources said the refinery had been hit by four Ukrainian drones, causing 'significant damage'. The Ukrainian military, claiming responsibility for the strike in partnership with the country's intelligence services, said the refinery was 'involved in supplying the Russian army'. Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov acknowledged the attack but claimed all the drones had been shot down. He added that the debris from one of the downed drones had struck the facility and caused a small fire that was 'promptly extinguished'. He added that one refinery worker was hospitalised. In the Smolensk region west of Moscow, governor Vasily Anokhin claimed there had been a "massive drone attack" on civilian infrastructure. He said one drone was intercepted while attempting to strike a nuclear energy facility. Nearby, air defences also destroyed several drones around the town of Andreapol, home to approximately 8,000 people, in the Tver region, according to the local governor. Russia 's defence ministry said in a statement on Friday that 49 Ukrainian drones had been downed over the country overnight, including 25 in the southern Rostov region and eight in the Volgograd region. Ukraine has targeted the Lukoil refinery in Volgograd before. Last May, an early morning drone strike claimed by Ukraine's intelligence services caused a fire in some of the facility's oil processing units. It is also the second time the refinery has been affected by fires this month. In the early hours of 15 January, an explosion and then fire broke out in the area due to what local authorities claimed was an internal issue. At the start of the year, Ukraine's intelligence services also conducted a cyberattack on Lukoil, which is one of Russia's largest oil and gas companies, preventing customers from making payments at gas stations via the mobile app. Ukraine has carried out frequent air attacks on Russian refineries, oil depots and industrial sites in an attempt to cripple key infrastructure underpinning Russia's war effort. More than a dozen refineries have been hit in the past two months, many of which are located hundreds of miles inside Russia. This week, Ukrainian forces claimed to have struck and set on fire a Lukoil refinery, Russia's fourth largest, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, east of Moscow. A Ukrainian drone attack last week also forced a refinery in Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, to suspend operations. Russia is currently feeding more crude oil through its refineries in the hope of boosting fuel exports after new US sanctions on Russian tankers and traders made exports of unprocessed crude more difficult, sources told Reuters this week. Elsewhere, the Ukrainian military said on Friday its missile and artillery forces had hit a Russian army command post in the Russian region of Kursk – where Ukraine is trying to hold a swathe of territory taken in two surprise offensives in the past few months – as a part of its effort to disrupt Moscow's troops operations and logistics. "As a result of the coordinated and precision strike, the enemy's command and control post was destroyed," the general staff said on Telegram. Meanwhile, Russia launched a barrage of drones on Ukraine in an overnight attack on Friday, injuring four people and damaging a hospital and a grain warehouse in the southern Odesa region, officials said. Ukraine's air defences shot down 59 of 102 Russian drones, the air force said. It said that 37 drones were 'lost', referring to the use of electronic warfare to redirect them. Russian drones damaged the northeastern Sumy region, the Odesa region in the south, and the central Cherkasy region. Oleh Kiper, the Odesa regional governor, said that four civilians, including a doctor, were injured in drone attacks targeting the city of Chornomorsk. The strikes also partially disrupted electricity supplies in the city and damaged the city's hospital, an administrative building, a grain warehouse, a residential house, and several trucks, he said on the Telegram app.
Al Jazeera
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events – day 1,071
Here is the situation on Thursday, January 30: Fighting A woman and her two-year-old child were reportedly killed in a drone attack on a home in Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, the region's Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. The attack reportedly left two people injured. The Russian Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems destroyed 104 Ukrainian drones overnight. One man was reportedly injured with a 'non-penetrating chest wound'. Buildings and cars were also damaged in the drone attacks. Vasily Anokhin, the mayor of Smolensk in western Russia, said the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant, the largest power generating facility in the northwest area of Russia, was among Kyiv's targets of the overnight attack. Anokhin said the unmanned aerial combat vehicle was destroyed. Kyiv's military claimed to have shot down 29 of the 57 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack, while 14 were unable to reach designated targets. Ukraine said Russia also launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile. Ukraine's military also said it struck an oil refinery in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region, resulting in a large fire. Regional Governor Gleb Nikitin confirmed the fire and said debris from a destroyed drone ignited the blaze. Russia's Andreapol oil pumping station was also hit by a Ukrainian drone strike, causing an oil leak and fire, Reuters news agency reported citing a source in the Ukrainian Security Service. A missile storage facility was also hit in the Tver region, causing a string of explosions. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said debris from a destroyed Russian drone dropped near a metro station in the Darnytskyi district of Ukraine's capital. According to data from the Ukrainian Air Force, Kyiv was under air raid alert for half an hour. Russian media reported that Moscow's troops took control of the Novoielyzavetivka village in east Ukraine's Donetsk region. Oleh Kiper, governor of Ukraine's Odesa region, said a Russian overnight attack targeting the area's port infrastructure left buildings damaged. Kiper reported no casualties. Kursk incursion The AFP news agency reported that Russian officials met relatives of civilians trapped in the Ukraine-occupied Kursk region. This comes amid criticism of the government's efforts and coordinated social media campaigns by the families appealing for the return of their loved ones. Russian oil and gas The European Commission decided against banning Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in its latest set of sanctions after member states raised concerns suggesting securing alternatives before imposing the ban. However, Russian aluminium, video games and joysticks were on the list of banned items. Moldovan gas supplier Moldovagaz said it reached an agreement with a supplier in Transnistria to resume gas deliveries to the country's separatist enclave. According to the company, an initial delivery of 3 million cubic metres of gas has been agreed for on credit. Politics and diplomacy Australian national Oscar Jenkins, reported to have been killed after being captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, is 'alive and in custody', the country's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. However, she said they 'still hold serious concerns for Mr Jenkins as a prisoner of war'. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged United States President Donald Trump to be on Kyiv's side, which is the 'side of justice'. He said Ukraine needs broader security guarantees, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not afraid of Europe. The Associated Press news agency reported that Western officials warned Ukraine of a potential loss of trust in the country over Kyiv's escalating internal feud between the defence minister and the procurement chief.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian drones hit Russian Lukoil refinery causing fire, 'significant damage'
Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Ukrainian drones hit Russia's Lukoil refinery early Wednesday morning causing fires and significant damage, according to Ukraine's military intelligence. The Kyiv Independent, citing Ukraine military intelligence service HUR, said four drones hit the refinery supporting Russian occupation forces at close to midnight local time. Local Telegram channels reported the attack on the Lukoil facility caused a large fire, online video showed the flames and Russian Nizhny Novgorod Gov. Gleb Nikitin said fragments of drones hit the facility as air defense systems shot at them. Russian Smolensk region Gov. Vasily Anokhin described a "massive drone attack" and claimed one drone was intercepted while trying to hit a nuclear energy plant. He said the attack was on "civilian infrastructure." The Lukoil refinery is about 500 miles from the front lines in Ukraine. Russia claimed more than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down in a big overnight attack that caused St. Petersburg and Kazan airports to cancel overnight flights. Local Russian officials reported attacks in Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk, Tver and Bryansk oblasts. On Jan. 24, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed an attack on Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery and a thermal power plant in Ryazan. That refinery is Russia's biggest. According to Ukraine's military, the attack caused more than 50 explosions and ignited a massive fire.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine drones hit oil refinery 250 miles east of Moscow in mass attack on power plants
Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery 250 miles east of Moscow in a huge wave of attacks on Russian power plants, say military sources. A large fire exploded at the refinery in Kstovo city in the Nizhny Novgorod region following the attack, the Ukrainian military said, adding it was assessing the scale of damage there. Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur said on Wednesday it had temporarily suspended production at the plant due to a Ukrainian drone attack. The company said debris had fallen onto the plant and caused a fire but there were no casualties. Emergency services were working at the site. Russian officials and media outlets also claimed that a nuclear power plant was among the targets of the massive Ukrainian drone attack against oil and power facilities. Air defence systems destroyed a drone attempting to strike a nuclear power facility in the western region of Smolensk bordering Belarus, Governor Vasily Anokhin said. This could not be independently verified and Russia and Ukraine have made a series of claims throughout the war claiming attacks on nuclear facilities. The Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant, the largest power generating plant in Russia's northwest, was working normally, RIA state news agency reported. The Russian defence ministry said 104 drones were involved in raids across western Russia, 11 of which were destroyed over the Smolensk region. In total, Russian air defences reportedly destroyed drones over nine regions, nearly half of them over Kursk where Russian and North Korean troops are fighting to drive out Ukrainian forces that seized a swathe of this region in a surprise raid last summer. Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia temporarily halted flights at the Kazan airport in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan and at the Pulkovo airport in the Leningrad region. Kyiv says that its attacks inside Russia, some at targets more than 900 miles away, aim to destroy infrastructure key to Moscow's war efforts. It struck an oil refinery recently in the city of Engels which supplied Vladimir Putin's nuclear bomber fleet. The Ukrainian military said Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 57 drones in an overnight attack. The military said it shot down 29 Russian drones and that 14 drones did not reach their targets. Debris from a destroyed Russian drone fell near a metro station in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, said on Wednesday. Kyiv was under air raid alert for about half an hour starting at 0355 GMT, according to data from Ukraine's air force. Kyiv and Moscow have both come under regular drone attack since Putin launched his invasion in February 2022. The Russian overnight attack also targeted port area infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region and damaged buildings, Governor Oleh Kiper said on Wednesday.
Saudi Gazette
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Ukrainian drone strike hits second Russian oil refinery in a week
KYIV — Ukraine says its forces successfully hit an oil refinery in the Russian town of Kstovo, around 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the front lines in eastern drones hit a Lukoil company depot, Ukrainian media said, adding that the facility suffered significant posted on social media showed large flames rising over an industrial governor Gleb Nikitin said that drone debris had fallen over the industrial zone, and that no casualties had been reported at the the governor of the region of Smolensk, Vasily Anokhin, said on Telegram that a "massive" drone attack against "civilian infrastructure" had occurred in his region, although no casualties were immediately said one of the drones had been shot down when attempting to hit a nuclear power facility. The BBC has not been able to verify this information independently.A mother and her toddler were killed in the border region of Belgorod, which has come under frequent attack from Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod region, said another child and his father were also injured in the strike on Kstovo, Smolensk and Belgorod were part of a larger overnight attack, in which Russia said it brought down more than 100 Ukrainian drones and which led the airports of St. Petersburg and Kazan to suspend operations is one of the largest Ukrainian operations of its kind during the war and the second massive drone attack this week. On Friday, Ukraine hit another Russian oil refinery and targeted Moscow during an attack involving a wave of at least 121 Ukrainian drones swarmed Russia's skies, Moscow launched an overnight attack of its own, triggering air alerts in various Ukrainian Ukrainian army said it shot down 29 Russian drones over nine the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, the conflict grinds is making regular small advances in the east of Ukraine, edging ever closer to the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, which plays a crucial role as a logistics hub used by Ukrainian forces in the region. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continue to hold on to several hundred square kilometers of territory in Russia's western Kursk region, where they launched a lightning offensive in August. — BBC
