A series of drone strikes has targeted oil refineries and power infrastructure in western Russia, according to regional officials.
Ukraine has claimed, however, the new wave of attacks is the component of a developing crusade opposed to the comforts of Russian power in recent weeks.
Drone movements have been reported in several Russian regions, adding Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk, Tver and Bryansk, fires and triggering air defense responses.
Although there were no casualties reported, an oil refinery in the city of Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod, suffered significant damage.
Local telegram channels reported that the drones hit the “Lukoil Nizhegorodnefteorgsintante” oil refinery, in a giant chimney that took hours to control, the independent Kyiv reported.
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Video footage circulating online has shown flames applied at the facility, which local surveillance teams have known to be the primary target of the attack.
The governor of Nizhny Novgorod, Gleb Nikitin, showed that the air defense systems intercepted several drones, with the debris of low drones that fell on the commercial site. No injuries were reported.
Former Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Geraschenko, who is among those who shared the footage, commented: “Locals report the fire is getting stronger.”
In the Smolensk region, Governor Vasily Anokhin described a “massive drone attack” targeting civilian infrastructure.
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The Russian telegram channels bring back a primary fireplace in the oil refinery in Kstovo, a region of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, after an attack with unmanned airplanes. The population informs that the chimney is strengthened. pic. twitter. com/f23dmzzdwe
One drone was intercepted while attempting to strike a nuclear energy facility, Anokhin claimed.
Meanwhile, in the TVER region, air defenses destroyed several drones in the city of Andreapol, which is home to about 8,000 people, according to Governor Igor Rudenya.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said the aerial defenses demolished 26 drones about the Bryansk region.
Bryansk, which is west of the highly militarized Kursk oblast and north of Ukraine’s Chernihiv and Sumy obasts, saw higher drone activity but has pointed to any injuries or damage.
Such strikes form part of a sustained Ukrainian effort to target Russian energy infrastructure, which has intensified in recent weeks.
In early January, Ukrainian drones reportedly hit several oil refineries in Krasnodar Krai, Ryazan and St. Petersburg, disrupting operations.
Kyiv has increasingly turned to long-range drone attacks in an effort to undermine Russia’s energy sector, a crucial component of its wartime economy.
Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, has acknowledged the rising frequency of these assaults but insists that its air defences are successfully repelling the majority of threats.
However, chimney and pain in the strategic sites that the Ukrainian drone crusade has a tangible impact.
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