Ukrainian drone sparks fire at Russian oil refinery, says governor

According to Russian officials, a Ukrainian drone set fire to an oil refinery in southern Russia, and shelling targeted a Russian village near the border for the third time in a week, destroying houses and cars and wounding four people. A day after Russia accused Ukraine of deploying drones to target buildings in Moscow, Ukrainian artillery hit the Russian town of Shebekino, some 7 kilometres (4.5 miles) north of the border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv area, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov stated on Telegram. According to him, two individuals were wounded, and the shelling shattered windows and damaged roofs of an eight-story apartment complex, four dwellings, a school, and other locations. A drone, according to the governor of Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, was the likely cause of a fire at the Afipsky oil refinery. The fire was quickly extinguished, and no one was injured, according to Governor Veniamin Kondratyev on Telegram. The Afipsky refinery is not far from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, and it is close to another refinery that has been targeted many times this month. There was no immediate word on who fired the drone, but Moscow has accused Kyiv of stepping up assaults within Russia in recent weeks, while Russia has frequently bombarded Ukrainian towns with drones and missiles. The reports could not be independently verified by Reuters. On Tuesday night, the skies over Ukraine were largely peaceful, with no big air raids recorded. According to Ukrainian officials, Russian drone assaults in Kyiv on Tuesday killed one person and injured four others. The strikes within Russia occur as Ukraine prepares to launch a counter-offensive to push Russian soldiers out of land they have held since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine nearly never officially claims credit for assaults in Russia or on Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia. Drone war Ukrainian drones struck wealthy districts of Moscow on Tuesday, Russia said, in what one politician called the most dangerous attack on the capital since World War Two. Kyiv was also hit from the air for the third time in 24 hours. Air attacks by both sides have intensified as a stalemate endures on the ground with Russian forces entrenched along an extended line in Ukraine’s east and south. The Russian defence ministry said eight drones sent to Moscow by Ukraine and targeting civilians were shot down or diverted with electronic jammers, though Baza, a Telegram channel with links to the security services, said there were more than 25. Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential aide, denied Kyiv was directly involved but said “we are pleased to watch events” and forecast more such strikes. Two people were injured while some apartment blocks were briefly evacuated, according to Moscow’s mayor. Residents said they heard loud bangs followed by the smell of petrol. Some filmed a drone being shot down and a plume of smoke. The drones targeted some of Moscow’s most prestigious districts including where Russian President Vladimir Putin and other members of the elite have homes. Putin said Ukraine’s biggest drone strike on Moscow was an attempt to frighten and provoke Russia, and that air defences around the capital would be strengthened. Civilian targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities have since the earliest days of the war been struck repeatedly by Russian drones and missiles. But Tuesday marked only the second time Moscow had come under direct fire. In Washington, the White House said it was gathering information on the reports of drone strikes in Moscow. “We do not support attacks inside of Russia. That’s it. Period,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing. Washington is a major supplier of weaponry to Ukraine on the condition it uses it to defend itself and to retake Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces. Russia’s ambassador to the United States accused Washington of encouraging “terrorists” in Kyiv by publicly ignoring the drone attack. Nuclear plant risk One of the southern places Russian forces have controlled since just after the beginning of the invasion is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and on Tuesday the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog asked Ukraine and Russia to respect five principles to safeguard it. Neither Ukraine nor Russia has committed to respect the principles. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has been trying for months to secure an agreement to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident from military activity like shelling at Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant. In a briefing to the UN Security Council, Grossi said the principles included that there should be no attack on or from the plant and that it not be used as a base for heavy weapons and other military equipment. He called for off-site power to the plant to remain available and secure. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .