Smoke rises over the Tavriya Thermal Power Plant in Simferopol. Photo: Exilenova+ / Telegram
At least 100 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russian territory overnight on Tuesday, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, as the Armed Forces of Ukraine continued its wide-ranging strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Russia’s western Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, downed 46 drones overnight, while another 12 were downed over the Kaluga region, eight over the Belgorod region, seven over the Krasnodar region, and six each over the Moscow and Oryol regions.
Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted two oil facilities deep inside Russia, with Telegram channel ASTRA sharing footage of what it said was an attack on an oil refinery in the Ulyanovsk region and an attack on a petrochemical factory in the southern Russian Stavropol region, while
Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that a second oil refinery in the Volga region republic of Mari El had been attacked overnight as well.
In Russian-annexed Crimea, the Tavriya Thermal Power Plant in Simferopol also reportedly came under attack, with the Kremlin-installed head of the region, Sergey Aksyonov, confirming on Telegram that a fuel and lubricants tank had caught fire.
An oil refinery in the nearby village of Hvardiske was also struck, with residents reportedly seeing smoke rising from the facility, according to Crimean Wind. The refinery, which had previously come under attack on 17 and 22 October, belongs to ATAN gas station network, Crimea’s largest petrol station chain.