(Reuters) – Ukraine launched a drone attack at a fuel facility in the Oryol region, the governor of the central Russian region said on Tuesday, while officials in the Kursk, Tula and Belgorod regions also reported drone attacks.
“There were no casualties,” Oryol’s Governor Klychkov said on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia’s RIA state news agency cited emergency services as saying one petroleum tank was on fire as a result of 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 residents as saying that there was an explosion before the fire broke out.
Reuters could not independently verify the Baza report. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Ukraine has in recent months launched a series of drone attacks on Russian refineries and energy facilities, some of which have been successful and caused significant damage and stoppages.
Two drones hit a fuel facility in Oryol, a city 370km (230 miles) south of Moscow and 220km (137 miles) from the Ukrainian border, in January, and a fire broke out there in February, although officials did not give a reason for the later fire.
Seven settlements in Russia’s Belgorod region that borders Ukraine were left without electricity overnight after a Ukraine-launched drone dropped explosives, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod region, said on the Telegram.
Roman Starovoit, governor of the Kursk region which also borders Ukraine, said on Tuesday three Ukraine-launched drones were downed overnight over his region, with emergency services checking for possible damage.
One drone was downed over Russia’s Tula region, which border Moscow region, Russian media reported citing local Tula officials, without providing further detail.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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