Ukrainian drones strike oil refinery in Kaluga region of Russia
In the early hours of March 15th, Ukrainian drones struck an oil-refining plant in the Kaluga region, Ukrayinska Pravda reports citing sources from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
According to a source from the publication, the drones successfully hit their target at the Pervy Zavod facility. The Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized that this is one of the plants the Russians use for military purposes.
In the morning, Kaluga region’s governor Vladislav Shapsha reported four drones attacking the area. However, according to the Russian report, all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were allegedly downed above the Dzerzhinsky district. Russian Telegram channels indicate that the attack began around 4 am and lasted for half an hour. Social network users report that despite the drones being "suppressed," one of them struck a pipe leading to a fire.
The Russian Telegram channel ASTRA suggests that, only one drone was downed by the Russians, and the other three hit the petrochemical plant’s refining equipment, causing damage.
Videos circulating online, reportedly showing the moment a drone struck the oil refinery, contain explicit language.
Earlier, explosions were followed by a fire at an oil depot in the city of Oryol, where authorities claimed there were no casualties.
Additionally, on the morning of March 12th, a fire broke out at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refining plant in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia. The regional governor, Gleb Nikitin, stated that the fire at the energy facility was the result of a Ukrainian drone attack.