MOSCOW — A fire broke out at an oil depot in the southern Russian city of Ust-Labinsk following an overnight drone attack, regional authorities said on Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Kyiv was behind the strike.
The Krasnodar Operational Headquarters said 60 people were evacuated from nearby buildings after the attack triggered a fire at the facility.
“According to preliminary reports, there are no casualties,” authorities said, adding that 167 personnel and 54 pieces of equipment were deployed to contain the blaze.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drones struck the oil depot as part of what he described as Kyiv’s “long-range sanctions,” reaching about 500 kilometers into Russia’s Krasnodar region.
He also claimed Ukrainian drones traveled roughly 1,000 kilometers to Russia’s St. Petersburg region, targeting naval arsenals and a military facility in Kronstadt.
In the Leningrad region, a separate fire broke out at a Russian Defense Ministry facility in the Lomonosovsky District, according to Governor Alexander Drozdenko.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said the region faced a “large-scale” drone attack, while Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that air defense systems intercepted at least 10 drones heading toward the Russian capital overnight.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 376 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including over the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, Crimea and Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 272 drones overnight, claiming that 249 were intercepted. It said 19 strikes hit 11 locations, while debris from downed drones fell in 13 other areas.
“It is time to end this war. But Russia’s ruler wants to keep fighting,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
The claims made by both sides could not be independently verified.
Source: Saudi Gazette