KYIV: Ukraine confirmed Thursday that its forces had struck an oil depot in western Russia, where officials had said earlier that Kyiv’s drones had sparked a blaze in the Voronezh region bordering Ukraine.
The attack is the latest aerial assault by Ukraine to target Russian energy sites and military facilities in a campaign that has escalated this week.
“Ukrainian Defense Forces hit the Liskinska oil depot,” the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement, claiming that “a large-scale fire broke out at the facility.”
It added that three drones had struck the storage facilities, which it claimed was used by the Russian army.
The governor of the Voronezh region had said earlier that several drones “sparked a fire at an oil depot.”
Governor Alexander Gusev said Voronezh was attacked by more than 10 drones, with most striking a depot in the Liskinsky district.
He said that there were no casualties and that reinforcement firefighters had been dispatched to put out the blaze.
Videos posted by witnesses showed a substantial blaze.
Kyiv said earlier this week that it had carried out its largest aerial attack of the war on Russian army factories and energy hubs hundreds of kilometers from the front line.
Russia responded with a mass missile and drone attack that primarily targeted Ukrainian energy facilities in the west of the country.