Ukrainian drones target major oil facility in Moscow region
Ukrainian drones targeted a major oil facility in Moscow Oblast overnight on Oct. 6 as Kyiv launched one of its largest reported drone attacks on the Russian capital region in recent years, according to Russian officials and local monitoring channels.
The drones struck the Volodarsk Linear Production and Dispatch Center near the village of Konstantinovo, according to the Russian Telegram channel Exilenova Plus. The Kyiv Independent said it could not immediately independently verify the reports.
Russian state media described the overnight attack as the largest drone assault the Moscow region had experienced in the past two years.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said around 650 Ukrainian drones had been detected approaching the Moscow region, with Russian air defenses destroying 105 of them as they neared the capital.
“The majority of them were destroyed by air defense forces at a distance,” Sobyanin said.
Footage reportedly recorded in Konstantinovo appeared to show flames and heavy smoke rising from the Volodarsk facility following the attack.
Located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from central Moscow, the facility is around 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Ukraine's border.
The Volodarsk complex is reportedly the largest oil storage and distribution facility in Moscow Oblast, processing or handling up to 3 million tons of petroleum products annually, according to the independent Russian outlet Astra. Pipelines from the facility supply major airports in the Moscow region.
Ukraine has increasingly carried out long-range drone strikes against Russian military and energy infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Moscow's ability to sustain its war effort.
Kyiv has repeatedly targeted Russian oil refineries, fuel depots and other energy facilities, arguing that such sites contribute to Russia's military capabilities.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said on Oct. 4 that Ukrainian strikes had disabled more than 51% of Russia's oil-refining capacity. The figure could not be independently verified.
The attacks are part of Ukraine's broader strategy of taking the war deeper into Russian territory as Kyiv seeks to put pressure on Moscow's military and economic infrastructure.
Russia, meanwhile, has continued to launch drone and missile attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.
Russian forces targeted Kyiv late on Oct. 5, with debris from a downed drone falling into a residential area in the capital's Pecherskyi district and setting cars on fire, according to a reporter on the ground.
The latest strikes come as both sides continue to use long-range drones to target infrastructure far from the front line, underscoring the increasingly expansive nature of the war more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (ILKHA)
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