Ust-labinsk: A fire erupted at an oil depot in the southern Russian city of Ust-Labinsk after an overnight drone attack, regional authorities reported. The incident adds to the growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Anadolu Agency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the attack, stating that Kyiv's "long-range sanctions" reached approximately 500 kilometers into Russia's Krasnodar region. The term "long-range sanctions" referred to the long-range attack drones employed by the Ukrainian military. The Krasnodar Operational Headquarters announced on Telegram that 60 individuals were evacuated from nearby buildings. It added that preliminary reports indicated no casualties, and 167 personnel along with 54 pieces of equipment were mobilized to extinguish the fire.
In a related incident, a fire also ignited at a Defense Ministry facility in Russia's Leningrad region, as informed by Governor Alexander Drozdenko on Telegram. In addition, St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov reported a 'large-scale' drone attack in the morning via the Russian social media platform Max.
On another front, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated that air defense forces successfully shot down at least 10 drones heading towards the capital overnight. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on Telegram that its forces intercepted and destroyed 376 Ukrainian drones across various regions, including the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, and Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy mentioned that Kyiv's drones traveled about 1,000 kilometers to the St. Petersburg region, targeting Russian naval arsenals and a military facility in Kronstadt. He reiterated that Ukrainian "long-range sanctions" had reached about 500 kilometers into Russia's Krasnodar region, impacting an oil depot. Zelenskyy expressed a desire to end the conflict, stating, "It is time to end this war. But Russia's ruler wants to keep fighting," in a message posted on the US social media company X.
In separate reports, the Ukrainian General Staff stated on Telegram that Russia's Peterhofskaya oil depot and Neste oil terminal in Leningrad region were also targeted during overnight strikes. The terminal is a key facility for distributing petroleum products in the northwestern region of Russia, with a storage capacity of 40,000 cubic meters of light petroleum products.
Ukraine's Air Force claimed on Telegram that Russia launched 272 drones overnight, with 249 of them being shot down. It reported that 19 drone strikes hit 11 locations, while debris from downed drones fell in 13 locations. Independent verification of these claims remains challenging due to the ongoing conflict.
Earlier in the year, Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian forces had struck 15 Russian oil refineries between January and May and claimed that nearly 40% of Russia's primary oil refining capacity was offline as of May.