


An overnight drone attack damaged an oil refinery in Kstovo, Russia, Ukraine announced Wednesday, marking Kyiv’s second successful drone attack on Moscow’s energy infrastructure in less than a week.
Ukraine’s military announced that the drone attack significantly damaged a Lukoil depot about 500 miles from the front lines of the war. Regional Gov. Gleb Nikitin said there have been no reported casualties as a result of the strike, but the drones left considerable debris.
Social media posts show the oil facility burning in the strike’s aftermath.
Russian officials reported a massive drone attack by Ukranian forces. Gov. Vasily Anokhin of the Smolensk region asserted that the attack was wide-reaching, targeting mostly civilian infrastructure, but reported no casualties.
Mr. Anokhin also said that one of the Ukrainian drones had been shot down when it attempted to strike a nuclear power facility.
Overall, Moscow claimed that its forces shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones during the assault.
To ensure safety, all flights at the Kazan and St. Petersburg airports were halted during the attack, according to Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia. The airport is just over 500 miles from Moscow.
The massive drone attack is the second of its kind in the last week, indicating the importance of drone warfare in the ongoing conflict. Last Friday, Ukraine launched more than 120 drones, targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure. The drone successfully hit Russia’s Ryazan refinery, claiming to have done significant damage.
Russia launched its own drone strike in retaliation, with Ukrainian authorities claiming to have shot down at least 29 drones.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.