Kyiv claims new attack on oil depot in Russia

According to a source in the Ukrainian security services who spoke to AFP, Ukraine was responsible for the strike that set off a massive fire at an oil facility in western Russia on Friday. After Kyiv claimed another attack on an oil storage facility in the northern Leningrad area of Russia on Thursday, this is the second strike on a Russian oil stockpile in as many days. Throughout the almost two-year conflict, Kyiv has attacked Russian oil and gas infrastructure, claiming that these actions are only reprisal for strikes on Ukrainian territory. A depot in the town of Klintsy, around 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was the target of the attack on Friday. The strike was an operation carried out by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, a Ukrainian security source confirmed to AFP, without elaborating. Social media footage showed a massive cloud of black smoke billowing over the Klintsy facility following the attack, which Russian officials said was a drone strike. Russia said it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the region, but before it was intercepted it managed to drop “munitions” on the depot, sparking the fire. There were no casualties, but 13 fire trucks were deployed to battle the flames, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said. A train especially equipped to deal with large fires was also scrambled to the town to help battle the blaze, a local train operator said. “The fire will not affect rail traffic in Klintsy,” it said. On Thursday, Uraine claimed responsibility for a rare drone attack in the northern Leningrad region, nearly 1,000 kilometres (around 620 miles) from the border.