Ukrainian drones strike western Russia’s Kirov region for the first time

Ukrainian drones attacked the Zenit oil depot in Russia’s central western Kirov region on Wednesday, the first time the region has come under attack since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Telegram channel Baza reported.

Five aerial drones were used to strike the oil depot near the city of Kotelnich, some 800 kilometres southwest of Moscow, causing an oil reservoir to catch fire, sources told Baza, which added that the fire was subsequently extinguished.

Kirov Governor Alexander Sokolov confirmed the attack but stressed that nobody had been injured and that the situation was “under control”, adding that two drones had been intercepted at around 10am on Wednesday, while another three “fell” onto the territory of the oil depot. He denied, however, that any of the oil reservoirs had caught fire.

The Russian Defence Ministry has not commented on the attack.

Two airports in Russia’s Volga region republic of Tatarstan, some 300–500 kilometres to the north of Kotelnich, had their operations suspended earlier on Wednesday morning on “security grounds”.

Another Ukrainian strike caused a fire at an oil depot in southern Russia’s Rostov region in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the second in the Rostov region in two weeks, as another blaze at an oil depot in the town of Proletarsk remains unextinguished since the 18 August Ukrainian drone strike that caused it took place.

Ukraine has consistently targeted oil depots and refineries deep within Russia, causing significant disruptions to one of Russia’s most lucrative industries. The reduction in Russia’s oil refining capacity could cause price hikes and petrol crises in regional markets, Novaya Europe estimated in March, as well as complicate the supply of fuel to the Russian military in Ukraine.