Oil refinery on fire in Russia's Kursk Oblast

July 28, 2024 6:13 am

• 1 min read

Oil refinery on fire in Russia's Kursk Oblast — Photo for illustrative purposes: A military truck with the letter Z, a tactical insignia of Russian troops in Ukraine, rides past a sign that reads "Kursk, the city of military glory" near the Russian city of Kursk in May 2023. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images)

A drone attack in the Kursk region of Russia overnight on July 28 caused explosions and resulted in several fires, including one at an oil depot.

Kursk Oblast Governor Alexei Smirnov said the region's air defense forces are "on alert" due to the threat of drone attacks and urged residents to remain "vigilant." He did not provide other details.

There was no information on casualties or damage at the time of the publication.

Several Telegram monitoring channels reported that the attack caused fires in Medvedinsky and Kursky districts of the region. Several videos shared by locals show plumes of fire in the region. The Kyiv Independent couldn't verify the information.

Kursk Oblast lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast. As with other Russian regions bordering Ukraine, it has been reportedly struck numerous times by drones or other long-range weapons in recent months.

Russia Ukraine Drone attack Oil refineries

Olena Goncharova

Head of North America desk

Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

Illustrative photo: Russia's Black Sea Fleet warships take part in the Navy Day celebrations in the port city of Novorossiysk on July 30, 2023. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine war latest: Drones attack Russia's Black Sea Fleet; Russian pipelines explode in country's Far East, HUR says

Photo for illustration purposes: A Gazprom compression station, the starting point of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, in Ust-Luga, Russia, Jan. 28, 2021. (Andrey Rudakov / Getty Images)

Pipelines supplying Russian military explode in Russia's Far East, HUR source says

Ukraine's General Staff reported an attack on Borisoglebsk airfield in southwestern Voronezh Oblast, Russia, on July 5, 2024. (General Staff / Facebook)

Ukrainian drone strike on Russian airfield hits bomb depot, aircraft

The Russian city of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai reportedly came under a drone attack overnight on July 6, 2025. (Astra/Screenshot)

Drones reportedly attack Russia's Black Sea fleet

A screenshot from the video of Skynex in action published by Ukraine's Air Force on July 12, 2025. (Air Force / Telegram)

'Impeccable results' — New Skynex video shows Ukrainian forces destroying Russian drones with German gun

News Feed

Friday, July 18

6:01 pm

A US general just threatened Russia's Kaliningrad — this is why that's so significant

4:59 pm

UK sanctions Russian intelligence units involved in cyberattacks.

The sanctions target operatives of Russia's military intelligence (GRU), responsible for widespread malicious cyber activity in the U.K. and Europe, the Foreign Office said.

4:51 pm

Ukrainian artist’s ‘Sculpture’ series normalizes injured bodies of Ukrainian soldiers

4:06 pm

Romania plans to build drones with Ukraine.

The project would involve Romanian investment in a local factory, likely in Brasov, where Ukrainian and Romanian teams would collaborate on manufacturing drones based on Ukrainian designs developed through wartime experience.

10:15 am (Updated: July 18, 2025 3:23 pm)

Russian attacks kill 7, injure 25 in Ukraine over past 24 hours; trains hit twice in one day.

Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 11 Shahed-type drones overnight as Russia launched a wave of 35 attack drones, including decoy drones, primarily targeting eastern frontline regions. Six additional decoys were jammed or lost.

9:28 am (Updated: July 18, 2025 2:50 pm)

EU agrees on 'one of its strongest' Russia sanctions packages after Slovakia lifts veto.

The package targets 105 vessels of Russia's shadow fleet, the Russian banking system, Nord Stream pipelines, and lowers the price cap on Russian crude oil.

2:25 pm

Zelensky, Macron discuss SAMP/T air defenses, Mirage jet training in hour-long call.

France has agreed to expand pilot training for Mirage fighter jets, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

2:16 pm

Ferrexpo's Ukrainian mining subsidiary executive charged with $41 million tax evasion scheme.

The head of Ukraine's Poltava Mining faces criminal charges for allegedly evading over Hr 1.7 billion ($41 million) in corporate taxes through fraudulent export pricing, the Ukraine Economic Security Bureau announced in a press release on July 18.

1:30 pm

Ukrainian hackers wipe databases at Russia's Gazprom in major cyberattack, intelligence source says.

The cyberattack allegedly destroyed large volumes of data and installed custom software designed to further damage the company's information systems.

12:57 pm

2 killed, 11 injured in Russian attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

The fatalities included a man and a woman. All of the 11 injured victims have been hospitalized, one of whom — a 29-year-old woman — is in serious condition, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

10:18 am (Updated: July 18, 2025 12:01 pm)

Ex-defense minister appointed secretary of Ukraine's Security Council.

Rustem Umerov previously served as Ukraine's defense minister, a post he had held since September 2023.

11:58 am

Trump admin cuts undermine efforts to track abducted Ukrainian children, Council of Europe envoy says.

"European countries will have to fund it," Thordis Gylfadottir, an envoy of the Council of Europe, told Politico. "We cannot stop tracking them and then just re-track them (abducted children) in the months ahead."

11:43 am

Wagner mercenary who trained Russian boxing champion, fought in Ukraine, was killed in Mali, intelligence source says.

The source called Igor Nesterov a war criminal and a member of Russia's infamous Wagner company, a mercenary group that was deployed in some of the most brutal battles in Ukraine.

8:46 pm (Updated: July 18, 2025 10:18 am)

US general says NATO could seize Russia's Kaliningrad with 'unheard of' speed.

Allied capabilities now allow NATO to "take that (Kaliningrad) down from the ground" faster than ever before, U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander General Chris Donahue said.

9:18 am

Ukrainian drones reportedly attack Moscow for second night in a row.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said four drones were shot down on approach to the capital, with blasts heard near Zvenigorod, Istra, and Zelenograd — suburban districts and satellite towns located to the west and northwest of central Moscow.