A drone attack has hit a major Russian oil refinery near the border with Ukraine, the plant’s management said, sending a ball of flame and black smoke billowing into the sky and prompting the suspension of operations. Officials at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region said the first drone attacked at 8:40am (05:40GMT), hitting a crude distillation unit, triggering a blast and ball of fire.
The second attack, at 9:23am, targeted crude oil reservoirs at the refinery, the largest supplier of oil products in southern Russia, but caused no fire, according to plant management. No one was reported injured.
Russian regions bordering Ukraine have reported attacks and shelling after Moscow sent its troops into its neighbour on February 24 for what it still calls a “special military operation”.
The refinery is in southwestern Russia, just 8km (5 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
“As a result of terrorist actions from the Western border of the Rostov region, two unmanned aerial vehicles struck at the technological facilities of Novoshakhtinsk,” a statement from the plant said.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
