In a latest attack on Russian infrastructure, Ukrainian drones damaged Rosneft’s biggest oil refinery in Ryazan, 180km from the capital Moscow.
Both the countries have used drones to attack their critical infrastructure and military installations over the months.
Media reports have said that around 60 drones were destroyed by Russian forces over the last few hours.
“The Ryazan oil refinery was attacked by a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle),” Pavel Malkov, governor of the Ryazan region bordering the Moscow region to its north, said on the Telegram messaging app
The attack comes a day after Ukraine launched dozens of drones at targets in Russia with one striking an oil refinery in the Russian region of Nizhny Novgorod that produces nearly 6% of Russia’s total refined crude, and another hitting an oil depot with petroleum products in the city of Oryol.
State news agency Ria Novosti reported that four Ukrainian drones attacked the plant in the morning leading to a blaze. The impact on oil production is not clear.
Recently, Kyiv has concentrated its attack on Russian refineries and energy facilities. This has led to shortage of petrol forcing Moscow to ban the export of petrol for six months in order to control domestic prices as shortage of fuel has been reported.
The government had tightened security around refineries in the country, according to media reports.
Russia goes to polls on March 15-17 and president Vladimir Putin has said that this attack was an attempt to disrupt Russia’s presidential election.
In an interview with Russia’s RIA state news agency, Putin said, “The main goal, I have no doubt about it, is to – if not to disrupt the presidential elections in Russia – then at least somehow interfere with the normal process of expressing the will of citizens.”
The outcome of the polls is all but certain with Putin likely to win. Russia has silenced virtually all dissent through harsh new laws that impose heavy fines or prison on independent voices.
