Drones on Wednesday attacked two oil refineries just 65-80 km east of Russia’s biggest oil export terminals, according to Russian officials.
One hit the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, causing a fire that was later extinguished, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.
There was no immediate word on who launched the drones, but Russia accused Ukraine of stepping up attacks on targets inside the country, including in Moscow on Tuesday.
Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or in Putin-controlled territory.
Drone attacks have intensified in recent weeks on Moscow, pipelines and even the Kremlin ahead of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Afipsky refinery is 80 kilometers east of the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, one of Russia’s most important oil export gateways.
The plant can process around 6 million tons (44 million barrels) of oil per year.
Novorossiisk, together with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, brings about 1.5% of global oil to the market.
Last year, CPC exported through the South Ozereyevka terminal 58.7 million tons of oil, mainly from Kazakhstan, while the Sheskharis terminal in Novorossiisk handled around 30 million tons of oil.
Another drone crashed at the Ilsky refinery, which is about 64 km east of Novorossiisk, Russian state news agency RIA reported, citing local officials.
According to the refinery’s website, its five processing units have a combined capacity of 3 million tons per year.
Refineries across Russia have been frequently attacked by drones after the start of what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.
Source: CNN Brasil
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