Drone strike hits Volgograd oil refinery, causing large-scale fire – video
Drones conducted a large-scale attack on the Russian city of Volgograd on the night of 10-11 February, causing a major fire at a local oil refinery.
Source: Telegram monitoring channels; Russian Telegram channels; Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov; Russian Defence Ministry
Details: Residents of Volgograd and the surrounding areas reported a series of loud explosions at around midnight.
Monitoring channels indicated that the drones had likely attacked the Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka oil refinery, after which a large-scale fire broke out in the area.
Update: Bocharov later stated that drones had attacked "energy and civilian infrastructure in Volgograd Oblast".
He added that there was "a fire at a refinery in southern Volgograd" and that "no casualties have been recorded".
"Emergency and municipal services are working to search for and dispose of potential drone debris," Bocharov said.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed in the morning that air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed 108 Ukrainian drones. A total of 49 drones were downed over Volgograd Oblast, 29 over Rostov Oblast, 7 over Saratov Oblast, 3 over Astrakhan Oblast, 2 over each of Bryansk Oblast, Kalmykia and Tatarstan and 1 over each of Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk and Tula oblasts and North Ossetia.
In addition, seven drones were destroyed over the Black Sea, one over the Sea of Azov and one over temporarily occupied Crimea.
The Volgograd refinery is the largest producer of petroleum products in Russia's Southern Federal District and holds strategic significance for the Russian military.
It processes over 15 million tonnes of crude oil annually, specialising in deep refining to produce petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, fuel oil, bitumen and other oil products.
Background: Ukraine's defence forces hit the Zhutovskaya oil depot in Volgograd Oblast on the night of 9-10 January. The facility is used to supply fuel to the Russian occupying forces.
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