A drone attack triggered a major fire at an oil depot in Russia’s Smolensk Oblast early on 31 December, according to local officials and media reports. The affected facility is located over 300 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
Russian news Telegram channel Astra published videos showing massive flames engulfing the facility in Yartsevo. Local residents reported hearing over ten powerful explosions around 3:40 local time (2:40 Kyiv time), preceded by drone buzzing sounds, Russian pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Shot reports.
Yartsevo district head Roman Zakharov confirmed the attack on an “energy infrastructure facility,” stating that emergency services were working to extinguish the open flames. “Special [emergency] services and competent authorities are investigating the situation,” Zakharov said per Astra.
Smolensk Oblast Governor Vasily Anokhin claimed Russian air defenses “suppressed a Ukrainian UAV attack.” According to Anokhin, drone debris allegedly fell on the oil depot’s territory, causing “fuel spillage and ignition of petroleum products,” which obviously false as the fuel spillage and fire imply that at least one drone has successfully hit its intended target.
At the time of publication, Ukrainian officials did not confirm Ukrainian involvement in the attack on Yartsevo oil depot.
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