Ukraine’s military said its forces struck an oil base in western Russia’s Voronezh region overnight Friday as Russian authorities dismissed the attack as insignificant.
The Annanefteprodukt fuel storage base in the Voronezh region’s Anninsky district was hit by Ukraine’s SBU security service and other military branches, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.
“At least one of the tanks was confirmed to be hit. There was a fire,” the General Staff said in a social media statement.
Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said the “small fire” was extinguished soon after it broke out and there was no damage to the oil depot. The Anninsky district is located 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
Another oil depot fire was reported in central Russia’s Perm region, but emergency officials ruled out a potential Ukrainian drone strike, saying they believe it was caused by safety violations or a technical malfunction.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense systems intercepted or downed 18 Ukrainian drones over three Russian regions and the Sea of Azov, including six over Voronezh.
Russia and Ukraine have both intensified their attacks on each other's energy infrastructure in recent months, with Kyiv aiming to hinder Moscow's capacity to carry out military operations.
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