Ukraine brought the war to Russia’s Kirov Oblast for the first time on Wednesday with a drone strike on an oil depot there more than 700 miles from the border. It was one of at least two attacks on Russia’s fuel infrastructure overnight that included a drone strike in Rostov Oblast and conflicting claims about an attack on one in Ryazan Oblast. The attacks are part of Ukraine’s effort to severely degrade Russia’s oil industry, which supports the war and is a critical part of its economy.
The Zenit oil facility in Kotelnich, Kirov Oblast, was attacked by Ukrainian drones starting at 10 a.m. local time, Oblast Gov. Aleksandr Sokolov said on Telegram. “As a result of timely measures taken, two drones were shot down and three fell on the territory of the Zenit plant in Kotelnich and caught fire.”
The fires were “quickly extinguished,” Sokolov claimed.
“There was no damage, no disruption to the enterprise’s operations,” he added. “Emergency services are working at the scene, there was no fuel fire, no casualties.”
Videos emerged on social media showing drones approaching the depot. In the one below, residents are seen firing at a drone spotted overhead. It ends with a loud bang, but the camera is pointed to the ground so the result of engagement is unknown.
In the top video that follows, the sound of an explosion is heard followed by smoke rising from the scene of the impact. The video below it shows the drone flying toward the Zenit facility.
The city’s emergency dispatch service said there is “slight smoke” at the facility “due to a UAV hitting a kerosene tank. Foam is being poured,” the official Russian TASS news outlet reported on Telegram.
The Russian Baza news outlet offered a slightly different take, saying on Telegram that four drones hit the Zenit facility, with one causing an explosion and fire.
One of the videos below shows what appears to be a drone striking the facility, resulting in a puff of brown smoke, but no resulting fire is seen from that angle. NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System showed no fire at this location.
About 755 miles to the southwest, Ukrainian drones also struck the Atlas fuel depot in Rostov Oblast, according to the regional governor. The depot is about 140 miles from the front lines.
“A UAV attack caused a fire at a fuel depot in Kamensky District,” Vasily Golubev said on Telegram. “There were no casualties. Emergency response forces are involved in extinguishing the fire. There is no threat of the fire spreading to residential buildings.”
The depot was hit by two drones causing a fire “which they still cannot put out,” Baza said on Telegram. “Several tanks are burning.”
Video emerging on social media backs up that claim. The one on the top shows the plant still in flames in the daytime while the ones below show it burning after the attack overnight.
There are conflicting reports about the Ryazan State District Power Plant in the oblast’s Novomichurinsk district, about 270 miles from Ukraine and 150 miles south of Moscow.
“An explosion and a fire broke out” at the facility, Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov wrote on Telegram. “The station is completely covered in smoke. Meanwhile, some Russian publics are writing about a Ukrainian attack on the power facility, while pro-Kremlin media outlets are reporting spontaneous combustion of dry grass near the power plant.”
The regional press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations told the Russian Readovka news outlet that “the video of smoke in the area of the Ryazan State District Power Plant was filmed the day before. There was no fire at the power plant itself, but the footage shows grass burning next to it.”
However, the Russian MiG of Russia Telegram channel disputes that.
“Information directly from the field on the situation in Novomichurinsk: it is not burning grass, there was an emergency at the power plant,” MiG of Russia wrote on Telegram. “But it is not critical, and the situation was quickly resolved.” MiG of Russia did not explain what caused the emergency.
Video from the scene shows large plumes of gray smoke wafting up into the sky near the facility, but no indication of a fire there.
Meanwhile, a fire at the Proletarsk fuel depot in Rostov Oblast is still raging 11 days after being hit by Ukrainian drones, the U.S.-funded Radio Liberty news outlet said on Telegram.
“The intensity of the fire is still decreasing, although not very quickly,” the outlet said.
Before these attacks, Ukraine struck Russian oil facilities at least 64 times this year, according to an analysis by the BBC‘ Russian Service.
In at least 49 cases, the attacks sparked fires, BBC Russian Service reported, citing Russian media and Telegram channels.
“Many were extinguished on the same day, but there were exceptions. In addition, two attacks with subsequent fires were recorded in Russian-occupied Luhansk,” BBC Russian Service noted. “About a quarter of all attacks (17) occurred in the Krasnodar Territory, and Rostov Oblast is in second place by a wide margin (five incidents).”
Ukraine’s drone campaign, combined with a reduction in Russian gasoline production, has driven costs up, BBC Russian Service noted. However, “it is difficult to assess the damage from the attacks,” the news outlet pointed out. “Most often, oil companies do not disclose how long they have to repair the plants and how much they had to reduce production.”
Regardless, there are several reasons for Ukraine to continue hitting Russian oil facilities. Oil and gas exports are major contributors to the Russian economy and striking them hits the Kremlin in the wallet. Moreover, these facilities fuel the Russian war effort, and hitting them impacts logistics. Reducing the flow of fuel also drives up prices at the pump and in grocery stores, making the public feel the sting of this conflict. In addition, as BBC Russian Service reported, these constant strikes are leading to discussions about bringing in additional air defenses, something that hasn’t yet happened because they are in such great demand on the front lines far from these depots.
With Ukraine developing new weapons like jet-powered kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles, Ukraine is only set to expand the scope and frequency of its campaign against Russia’s energy sector.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com