RU Fuel Facilities Hit by UKR Drone Attacks; UKR Drone Strikes Disrupt RU Oil Industry; UKR Attacks 9 Russian Oblasts; UKR Drones Hit 7 RU Regions; RU IL-76 Army Cargo Plane Crashes with 15 On Board; Anti-Kremlin Fighters Launch Cross-Border Attacks into RU, LIVE UPDATES and LOTS MORE

NY POST: Russian fuel facilities hit by Ukraine drone attacks: officials:

Russian fuel facilities in Oryol and Nizhny Novgorod regions were on fire on Tuesday after Ukrainian drone attacks, local governors and media said, in what appeared to be a coordinated Kyiv air operation that also targeted Moscow and other regions.

Air defense systems downed a total of 25 drones launched by Ukraine over several Russian regions, RIA state news reported, citing Russia’s defense ministry.

It was not immediately clear whether all the drones were destroyed.

“In the morning, the Kstovo industrial zone, a fuel and energy complex facility, was attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles,” Gleb Nikitin, governor of Nizhny Novgorod, said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that a fuel processing unit was on fire in result of the attack.

RIA reported, citing Russian Railways, that a fire extinguishing train was taking part in putting out a fire in the territory of Lukoil’s refinery in Kstovo.

Oryol’s Governor Klychkov said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine launched a drone attack at a fuel facility in the region, while Russia’s RIA state news agency cited emergency services as saying one petroleum tank was on fire following the attack.

The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russian law enforcement, posted a photo of large flames rising above what appeared to be an industrial facility. The channel cited local Oryol residents as saying there was an explosion before the fire broke out.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Officials in Moscow, Kursk, Tula, Voronezh and Belgorod regions also reported drone attacks, providing few details about potential damage, but saying there were no casualties reported in the attacks.’ —>READ MORE HERE

WSJ: Ukrainian Drone Strikes Disrupt Russian Oil Industry

Ukraine struck oil facilities deep inside Russia overnight and into Tuesday, expanding a campaign of drone attacks on refineries and other petroleum infrastructure that aims to disrupt fuel supplies to the front line and damage Moscow’s most important export industry.

One of the drone attacks hit a large refinery operated by Lukoil, Russia’s second-biggest oil company, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, some 600 miles from the Ukrainian border. The strike caused a fire that spread thick black smoke over the morning sky, according to local authorities and images on social media.

Another drone hit near the town of Kirishi not far from St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, and home to a large refinery. A third attack struck oil-storage tanks in Oryol, a region near the Ukrainian border, authorities said.

The drone attacks demonstrate Ukraine’s ability to strike critical infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, including several similar attacks on oil facilities in recent weeks. Ukrainian attacks have caused damage severe enough to prompt monthslong repairs and required Russia to ban gasoline exports to preserve domestic supply.

Western nations have all but cut off direct imports of most Russian energy products, which now mostly end up in places such as China, India and Turkey. But because of the global nature of oil markets, the country’s sway remains formidable over prices everywhere. The disruption to Russia’s exports of valuable fuels has contributed to a recent rise in global diesel and gasoline prices, while crude prices have remained relatively stable.

The impact on Russia’s military fuel supply is difficult to estimate. Refineries are crucial for Russia’s war effort as tanks, ships and planes need refined products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

In attacking Russia’s energy heartland, Ukraine must navigate different pressures from Western allies. On the one hand, military advisers from the West have since the early days of the war encouraged Kyiv to target the logistical operations on which Russia’s war machine relies. Yet at the same time, Kyiv has fielded requests to not do anything that could drive up global energy prices.

“Oil refineries are unbelievably vulnerable,” said Mikhail Krutikhin, an independent Russian energy analyst. “Ukrainian drone attacks can be very efficient, and they will certainly be continued and expanded.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday it had intercepted some 25 drones in various regions. Later Tuesday, the ministry said it had shot down several Ukrainian drones that took part in an attack in the Kursk region near Russia’s border with Ukraine. In the Oryol region oil-depot attack, the fire spread and local authorities had to evacuate 17 people from nearby buildings, local authorities said. —>READ MORE HERE (or HERE)

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++UA attacks 9 Russian oblasts, hits two oil depots and a city admin building in biggest attack of war+++++

+++++Drones attack seven regions in Russia: fuel depots on fire+++++

+++++Dramatic Footage Shows Russian IL-76 Army Cargo Plane Crashing With 15 on Board+++++

+++++Anti-Kremlin fighters launch cross-border attacks into Russia from Ukraine+++++

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