Moscow, 23 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Following a Ukrainian drone attack, another oil refinery has caught fire in the Russian region of Samara on the Volga, the state news agency TASS reported on Saturday morning, citing local governor Dmitry Azarov.

The Russian Ministry of Defence reported on Telegram that a total of 12 drones had been destroyed over the regions of Bryansk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Saratov.

In addition, 11 missiles were destroyed over the Belgorod border region.

The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, reported on his Telegram channel that there were no injuries or damages due to debris.

According to authorities, two oil refineries in Samara were attacked with drones. Governor Azarov said that there were no injuries.

The plant in the city of Novokuibyshevsk was not damaged. The fire at the other refinery in Kuibyshev had been extinguished.

On Friday, the Financial Times newspaper reported that the United States wanted to deter Ukraine from attacking Russian oil facilities to avoid an escalation and rising global oil prices in light of the upcoming US presidential election.

In recent weeks, the Ukrainian secret services have systematically targeted Russian oil refineries with combat drones, even far behind the front line.

Russia has repeatedly shot down drones in the Saratov region, where the military airfield Engels-2 is located. Russia has stationed strategic bombers there, which are used for missile attacks on Ukraine.

Whether all drones could indeed be repelled during the overnight attack was initially not independently verifiable.

Russia, which began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, often reports only alleged successes of its own air defence in the case of Ukrainian drone attacks.

In its defence against the Russian invasion, Ukraine also frequently shells Russian territory - both in the border region and in the hinterland. However, casualty figures and damages there are not proportionate to the severe consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Photo: EPA