Drones reportedly hit oil depot, energy provider in Russia’s Oryol region
Several drones struck "facilities of a fuel and energy complex" in Russia’s Oryol region on the afternoon of Jan. 9, the regional governor, Andrey Klychkov, claimed on Telegram.
According to Russian pro-Kremlin media outlet Mash, a Ukrainian kamikaze drone allegedly hit the Orelnefteprodukt oil depot, and another drone struck the building of a local energy provider, Oryolenergo.
Three people were reportedly injured, and two of them refused hospitalization, Klychkov said. First responders are working on the scene.
Later, Klychkov claimed that the third drone fell on a non-residential building near the village of Malaya Sakhanka near Oryol. No casualties were reported.
The Kyiv Independent couldn’t verify any of the claims above.
Klychkov attributed the attack to Ukraine, while Kyiv hasn’t claimed responsibility. Ukrainian authorities rarely comment on attacks inside Russia.
Explosions were reported on Jan. 8 at a railway track by an oil depot on the outskirts of the Russian city of Nizhny Tagil.
A fire erupted in a substation in Moscow on Jan. 4, causing electricity and heating outages in dozens of multi-story buildings, a few days after Russian attacks against Kyiv Oblast left 260,000 Ukrainian citizens temporarily without power.
Russia began intensifying its attacks against Ukraine's cities and critical infrastructure as the temperatures dropped at the end of 2023, mirroring its strategy from last year.
Over the winter of 2022-2023, Russia engaged in a persistent campaign to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure, causing large-scale outages and damage to the grid.
As the cold weather season began and Ukraine prepared itself for a likely repeat of the strategy, Zelensky said in late October that this year, Ukraine would "not only defend itself but also respond" to Russia's "terrorist attacks" on critical infrastructure.
