Ukraine confirms drone strike on Russia's Volgograd oil refinery, Rubicon barracks in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight Feb. 11, Ukraine's General Staff reported.
After the strike, a fire was reported at the facility, and the extent of the damage is being assessed, the General Staff said.
Russia's Defense Ministry earlier claimed that it had shot down 48 Ukrainian drones in several regions, not including over Volgograd Oblast itself.
Volgograd Oblast Governor Andrey Bocharov said damage was reported in a facility in the South Volgograd, referring to the oil refinery. Bocharov also claimed that an apartment building and a kindergarten were damaged, with no casualties.
"Emergency services and municipal authorities are conducting search and rescue operations to locate and dispose of possible drone debris," he added.
The refinery, operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil, was struck by drones for the first time this year, Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported.
Volgograd is located about 354 kilometers (220 miles) from Ukraine's eastern border with Russia and approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory near Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast.
Previously, on Jan. 10, Russian authorities in Volgograd Oblast reported a drone attack overnight that sparked a fire at an oil facility in the region's Oktyabrsky district.
The General Staff also said that several facilities in Russian-occupied Ukraine were hit, including a fuel depot in Crimea, anti-aircraft missile systems in occupied parts of Donetsk and Kherson oblasts, a logistics depot, military equipment, and facilities in which soldiers from Russia's Rubicon brigade were located in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Kyiv regularly strikes deep within Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine in an effort to diminish the Kremlin's fighting power.
Ukraine considers Moscow's energy sites military targets as they fund Russia's war against Ukraine.
On Feb. 7, Ukraine attacked Russia's Bryansk Oblast with Neptune missiles and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), targeting energy infrastructure and disrupting the power supply, Governor Alexander Bogomaz claimed.
On Feb. 8, the pro-Ukrainian Atesh partisan group disabled communication infrastructure in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, the group claimed.
"An agent of our movement set fire to a hardware module at the base of a communication tower. As a result of the destruction of the ground equipment, all the infrastructure installed on the mast was completely de-energized and put out of action," the Atesh group announced.
