Ukraine claimed responsibility today for a nighttime drone attack on two oil refineries in Russia's southern Krasnodar region.
Russia's Defense Ministry earlier announced that it had destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones sent into its territory overnight.
"Drones of the (Ukrainian security) services hit two refineries in the Krasnodar region at the same time, not only the Ilski refinery, but also the Afipski refinery," a source in the Ukrainian special forces told AFP.
According to that source, a large fire broke out in the Ilski refinery and the plant for primary processing with a capacity of 3,6 million tons per year was damaged.
That refinery was already the target of Ukrainian drone attacks last year.
The same source said that the refinery in Afipkski was also affected, but that the consequences are still being assessed.
Ukraine has increased drone and missile attacks on energy and military facilities on Russian soil in recent months in an effort to deprive Moscow of key resources for attacks on Ukraine.
"Those refineries are legitimate targets. Not only do they supply Russian troops with fuel, but they are also important to the Russian economy," said a Ukrainian source.
Russian local rescue services in the Krasnodar region reported a fire at the Ilski refinery, but did not link it to the drone attack previously reported by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Russian military said earlier that it neutralized 19 Ukrainian drones overnight in four different areas, including the Krasnodar region, and over the Black Sea.
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