Ukraine claims strike on Russian oil refinery in huge drone attack

Ukraine has reportedly hit a Russian oil facility targeting Moscow in an attack involving nearly 100 drones, one of the largest of its kind during the war.

Footage confirmed by the BBC shows flames rising above a water treatment and pumping station in the Ryazan region, south-east of Moscow, which Ukrainian authorities said was a target.

Russia said it shot down 121 drones targeting 13 regions, including Ryazan and Moscow, but did not cause any damage.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian authorities said three people were killed and one injured when a Russian plane crashed into a residential building in the Kyiv region.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s anti-narcotics center, said on Telegram that the oil refinery in Ryazan was hit, as well as the Kremniy plant in Bryansk. Kyiv says the facility makes missiles and other weapons.

Bloggers on the Telegram social network posted photos and videos of the fire in Ryazan. Footage confirmed to be authentic by the BBC shows people fleeing the scene in cars as the fire burns.

Russia’s state news agency RIA cited a statement from the Kremniy factory in Bryansk, which said work had been suspended after an attack involving six drones. Pavel Malkov, the regional governor, said emergency aid was responding.

The Kremlin acknowledged the attack but did not mention any damage or injuries.

It said it destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones, including six in the Moscow region, 20 in the Ryazan region, and several in the Bryansk region.

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said the city’s air defense intercepted Ukrainian military equipment in four locations.

He said air defenses southeast of the capital Kolomna and Ramenskoye had also cleared drones, without specifying how many. He said there was no damage.

Russian media quoted Rosaviatsiya, the civil aviation agency, as saying that Moscow’s two airports, Vnukovo and Domodedovo, will resume operations after temporary suspensions. Six flights were diverted to other airports.

In the city of Kursk, Mayor Igor Kutsak said the overnight attack damaged power lines and cut off electricity in one district.

In Ukraine, officials said its air defenses had destroyed 25 of the 58 drones launched by Russia overnight.

The Interior Ministry said debris from one of the planes killed two men and a woman in Hlevakha district of Kyiv region, and injured another.