Fire breaks out at oil depot in Russia after drone attack

Kursk, Russia (Svidomi) — A fire has broken out at an oil depot in Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. The governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said that a Ukrainian drone "crashed and caught fire" on the territory of the oil depot.

The Russian Ministry of Defence also reported the destruction of two Ukrainian drones in the Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine.

Since the beginning of 2024, drones have attacked about ten oil and gas facilities in Russian regions, in particular, in St Petersburg, located more than a thousand kilometres from the border with Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that they are developing long-range drones to attack strategic targets in Russia.

In January, Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, confirmed that Ukrainian-made drones had attacked a tank farm in St Petersburg.

Bloomberg writes that at the end of January 2024, Russian oil refining decreased by 135,000 barrels compared to the average for December 2023.

On March 1, Russia banned the sale of petrol abroad for six months.