Russian oil refinery catches fire after overnight drone attack

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed seven Ukrainian drones attempting to attack targets in three different regions overnight on February 3.

The ministry said that Russian forces shot down four drones in the Belgorod region, two in the Volgograd region, and one in the Rostov region.

Andrey Bocharov, governor of the Volgograd region, said that a downed drone caused a fire at an oil refinery. The outlet Volgograd Online wrote that the fire broke out at the Lukoil Volgograd Oil Refinery in the Krasnoarmeysky district. The fire was later extinguished. According to Bocharov, there were no casualties.

The outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing a source in Ukrainian intelligence, reported that Ukrainian Security Service drones attacked the refinery. According to the source, two drones hit the primary oil processing unit which is necessary to maintain a “significant portion of its production capacity.”

Governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that air defenses were activated overnight. Debris from the downed drone crashed on a farm, causing damage to a private residence and a truck.

Rostov governor Vasily Golubev said there were no casualties and no damage as a result of the drone attack.

The governor of Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, also said that a Ukrainian drone was shot down on approach to the region. According to Gusev, no one was injured and no damage was reported. Russia’s Defense Ministry did not report a drone attack in the Voronezh region.