Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carried out strikes on objects in the Smolensk and Lipetsk regions of Russia. According to the message of the Russian authorities, there was a fire at "fuel and energy facilities" and a "drone fall" was recorded in the industrial zone.
Smolensk Governor Vasyl Anokhin noted in his telegram message about the attack from Ukrainian UAVs on objects in two districts - Smolensk and Yartsevsky. At the same time, the governor of the Lipetsk region, Ihor Artamonov, also reported a similar attack in his region.
The oil base in the village of Razdovoro, located 20 kilometers from Smolensk, is engulfed in heat and smoke, according to the Russian publication SHOT, citing local residents.
The first explosion thundered at 3:15 a.m., followed 15 minutes later by another powerful explosion, and after that, smoke appeared over the industrial facility. In the morning, around four o'clock, several more loud explosions were heard, the SHOT telegram channel reports.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that their air defense systems destroyed eight Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territories of the Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Smolensk regions.
BBC sources report that the attack on two oil depots in the Smolensk region was carried out by drones of the Security Service of Ukraine. At these facilities, the Rosneft company stored and pumped fuel and lubricants.
"The Security Service of Ukraine continues to effectively destroy the military infrastructure and logistics that provide fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine. These objects are and will remain our absolutely legitimate goals," the source said.
Since the beginning of this year, the intensity of attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian oil refineries and oil depots has been increasing.
In March alone, drones attacked such objects of the Russian Federation at least 14 times. These attacks led to the failure of part of the equipment of oil refineries. Gasoline production in Russia suffered a major decline, and its prices began to rise.
According to Reuters estimates, by the end of March, approximately 14% of Russia's oil refining facilities were incapacitated by drone attacks.
Among the serious strikes by drones were attacks on the Lukoil oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, the fourth largest in Russia. This halted the operation of its largest primary processing unit, halving the plant's capacity, according to Russian publication Kommersant.
Also, one of the biggest blows was the attack on the Ryazan Rosneft refinery, which led to fires at two oil processing facilities, which depend on 70% of the plant's capacity.
The Kuibyshev Refinery of Rosneft near Samara was forced to stop its work after the attack.
Russia, which is one of the largest oil exporters, is now forced to increase its imports of gasoline from Belarus to prevent the risk of shortages in the domestic market, Reuters reported, citing four industry and trade sources.
The Russian authorities blame Ukraine for the attacks.
The Ukrainian authorities do not officially admit their involvement in these attacks, but they do not deny them either.
According to media sources, the US called on Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. These warnings, according to the statement, were conveyed by Washington to high-ranking officials of the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Security Service.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently warned that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries could threaten global energy markets.
Russia, for its part, is striking Ukrainian energy with its strikes.
