Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian fuel depot for the second time in just over a week on Sunday, according to a senior Russian regional official, as part of a “massive” cross-border attack on fuel and energy facilities that Kyiv says supply Moscow's military.
The strikes came days after Russia launched sweeping attacks on Ukraine’s already battered energy grid, threatening to plunge thousands of homes into darkness as winter tightens its grip over the region, and as Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor nears the three-year mark.
A fire broke out at the Stalnoy Kon oil terminal in Russia’s southern Oryol region, local Gov. Andrey Klychkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, adding Russian forces downed 20 drones targeting “fuel and energy infrastructure” in the province.
Russian independent news outlet Astra shared video of what it said was an explosion at the site, showing a massive orange blaze lighting up the night sky. While the clip could not be independently verified, it was later shared by a Ukrainian security official who described it as footage from Oryol.
The official, Andriy Kovalenko of the Council of National Security and Defense, claimed the Oryol fuel depot supplies Russian forces fighting in Ukraine and southern Russia, including the Kursk province where Ukrainian troops have dug in following a lightning incursion in August.
According to Klychkov, the Russian local governor, the fire was extinguished hours later and did not cause casualties or “significant” damage.
Ukraine's military previously claimed to have struck the Stalnoy Kon terminal with drones on Dec. 14, causing a “powerful” blaze.
Other key war-related developments from Ukraine and Russia:
— Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday vowed retaliation after Ukrainian drones the day before struck residential buildings in the city of Kazan, in the Tatarstan region over 1,000 kilometers from the front line. Speaking to Tatarstan's regional governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, Putin asserted that anyone attacking Russia has to reckon with Moscow inflicting “many times greater damage” in return, but did not elaborate. His remarks were carried by Russian state news agencies.
Minnikhanov's press service on Saturday said that eight drones attacked Kazan. Local authorities said there were no casualties.
— A 30-year-old man died on the spot Sunday in Ukraine's southern Kherson region after a Russian drone dropped explosives nearby, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Hours earlier, Prokudin said that two other civilians died as a result of Russian drone strikes on the province late on Saturday. A man in his late 40s suffered fatal injuries from a drone blast, and a woman was found dead under rubble after another drone slammed into her house.
— In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, a Russian drone strike Sunday severely injured a 56-year-old man as he walked down a road in the city of Kupiansk, local Gov Oleh Syniehubov reported. He said the man would need to have at least one limb amputated as a result, but gave no further detail.
— In the Kyiv suburb of Brovary, debris from a Russian drone sparked a fire late on Saturday on the roof of a 25-story tower block, according to regional Gov. Ruslan Kravchenko. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
— According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 103 Iranian-made Shahed drones at its neighbor overnight into Sunday. Ukrainian air defense shot down 52 of the drones while another 44 failed to reach their targets, the force said in a statement, in a likely reference to electronic jamming.
— Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had intercepted 42 Ukrainian drones launched overnight at Russian territory. According to the ministry, 20 of those were over the Oryol region, where the local governor said a blaze tore through the oil terminal.
— Separately, Russian forces have continued grinding forward in Ukraine’s northeast, in addition to eking out gains near the eastern town of Kurakhove. On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its troops had captured two northeastern settlements: Lozova in the Kharkiv region and Krasne in the Luhansk province. There was no immediate confirmation from Kyiv.
© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
17 Comments
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TaiwanIsNotChina
Go get 'em Ukraine!!! Your fight is just.
dobre vam zajebava
ok and so what now?
is this any kind of gamechanger or what?
reality is that UA forces are lossing every single day and have zero chance to win over Russia.
end of Kiev junta is looming and they may knew that for a while .
ok1517
Another step in the right direction!
Bring the war to Russia!
Let them experience what it feels like!
Oh, and by the way, a legit target - not like those Russian marauders who strike hospitals, apartment buildings, terrorizing and killing innocent civilians and so on!
@dobre,
a couple of thousand liters fuel destroyed can make a difference.
But you probably won't understand that trucks, tanks, APCs etc. don't run on hot air yet!!
Ukraine prevails (more than 1000 days in this 3-day-limited-operation)!!
dobre vam zajebava
UA conflict will be over as soon as money from US will stop to flow to Kiev junta pockets.Peace will be always better than this conflict.
Burgerland
"Oh, and by the way, a legit target - not like those Russian marauders who strike hospitals, apartment buildings, terrorizing and killing innocent civilians and so on!"
Seems both sides manage to strike civilian targets. That is why this war needs to stop asap. Hopefully deal maker Trump will deliver peace soon.
"On Friday, the Ukrainian military attacked the Russian town of Rylsk, Kursk Region. The town was hit by a barrage of missiles fired by US-supplied HIMARS systems and apparently packed with cluster warheads. At least five civilians got killed and a dozen injured in the attack.
The strike sparked several fires across the town, with multiple buildings damaged and at least 15 cars burned down. The strike affected exclusively civilian areas with no military installations located in the area.
According to interim governor of Kursk, Alexander Khinshtein, the attack damaged seven civic buildings, including schools and university buildings. Several multi-story residential buildings sustained damage as well. "
HopeSpringsEternal
Problem for Ukraine is every time they strike Russia, they get hit back far harder with 'interest'.
Trump will not permit or support (with intel, targeting, etc.) weapons strikes into Russia, that's clear Trump RED line, just 4 weeks away, so last acts of Kiev desperation, as the greatly diminished UA retreats in the east.
stormcrow
Nice shooting!
ok1517
Burger.. and Hope....,
as I said before, peace - YES, as soon as President Zelenskyy's conditions are met (and some more).
Concerning Donald, his red lines lead to Putain .... presenting that dictator Ukraine on a silver plate!
He would never do anything to "tick off" that man in the Kremlin!!
dobre vam zajebava
ok1514
Putain?
even google have no ideas...
Burgerland
ok1514Putain?..even google have no ideas...
It's a Spanish thing.
u_s__reamer
This war is getting nasty and both sides will be looking for an off-ramp in early 2025 which is when Chump will come in to reap the reward of Biden's series of egregious errors.
Hercolobus
NATO drones. Ukraine own nothing these days.
dobre vam zajebava
Kiev junta is desperate to make an attention as they are doing "great"...however effect is complete an opposite one.
Soon no money,soon party to over.
Volodymyr and co will be happy if will have enough of time to pack and go.
JJE
The penny hasn't dropped even though the evidence is painfully clear: Kyiv regime forces are losing and losing badly. Desertions are on the rise. Dying for the habit of the leader is not on the short list. Brutal arrests of new cannon fodder shocks the conscience.
Fos
Majority of Ukrainians want peace negotiations to start, but Washington is not done and pressures the
Kyiv regime to send its 18 year old kids to the frontlines.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/653495/half-ukrainians-quick-negotiated-end-war.aspx
A reminder that the top 5 arms manufacturers in the world are all American, controlled by the main hedge funds (Blackrock, Vanguard, Fidelity, you name it). A good opportunity to increase spending for Christmas presents for the usual suspects :)
dobre vam zajebava
Hanna, 12, and her family sit ride inside a van during an evacuation from Pokrovsk, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024
source AP sure not russian propaganda.question for ok1514
why these people are evacuated while Ukraine is prevailing/according to your slogan/?
or reality is different than pictured here?
basic common sense saying so...
HopeSpringsEternal
Official peace should be signed by July 1st, hopefully sooner, as Ukraine needs permanently stable relations with all its neighbors in order to start to rebuild, recover and for hopefully many stuck abroad to return home to help.