Russian electrical substation ablaze in Volgograd Oblast after drone strike, governor says
Editor's note: This is a developing story.
An electrical substation in Russia's Volgograd Oblast is in flames following a reported Ukrainian drone strike, regional Governor Andrey Bocharov said the morning of Oct. 16.
The Balashovskaya substation in the region's Novonikolayevka district caught fire after it was hit by debris from a falling drone, Bocharov claimed.
Firefighters are operating at the scene and repair services are working to restore power to nearby settlements, he said. No casualties were reported.
The fire broke out during a 'massive drone attack' targeting Volgograd Oblast's energy infrastructure overnight, Bocharov said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
The Balashovskaya substation is a 500-kv electrical substation owned by a subsidiary of Rosseti, Russia's largest power transmission company.
Ukraine has intensified longe-range strikes against Russian oil, gas, and energy infrastructure, a key source of Moscow's revenues helping to fuel its all-out invasion of Ukraine. In late September, Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported a strike on critical infrastructure as well as "significant power outages" after Ukrainian HIMARS rockets allegedly struck a thermal power plant.
Russia regularly launches mass aerial attacks at Ukrainian cities and has battered the country's power grid every fall and winter of the full-scale war.
