Russian oil refinery damaged in Ukraine drone attack

Staff WritersReuters
Camera IconA Ukrainian drone that was shot down has sparked a fire at a Russian oil refinery, officials say. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

Russia's biggest Black Sea oil refinery has been damaged in a major Ukrainian drone attack.

Debris from a drone shot down by Russia sparked a fire at the Tuapse refinery that has since been contained, the Krasnodar regional administration said.

Russia's SHOT and Mash Telegram news channels reported that a series of blasts were heard near the refinery early on Monday.

There were no casualties, officials said.

It was not immediately clear if the refinery was operational or the extent of the damage it had sustained.

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Ukraine has been systematically targeting Russian energy infrastructure in an attempt to disrupt Russia's economy and its ability to fund what the Kremlin calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia's defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed 75 drones launched by Ukraine, including eight near the Tuapse.

The Tuapse refinery, owned by oil major Rosneft, has been a target of several Ukrainian air attacks since the start of the war that Russia launched against its smaller neighbour in 2022.

At least two people were killed on Sunday in Ukrainian strikes on the partly Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Russian state media said, while Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes wounded at least five people.

Along the front line in the east, Russia said it had taken control of two villages - one in the Kharkiv region and one in the Luhansk region.

Ukrainian shelling of Russian-held areas of the Donetsk region killed two people in the village of Horlivka, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said.

Three people were wounded by Russian drone strikes in southern Ukraine's partly occupied Kherson region, local officials said on Sunday morning.

In the country's northeast, officials in the Kharkiv region said two people were wounded when a village was hit by Russian shells.

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