Ukrainian drones hit Russia's largest refinery, in one of deepest strikes yet
Details of the Omsk Refinery Drone Strike
Overview of the Attack
July 6 (Reuters) - Ukrainian drones struck Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk, deep in Siberia, on Monday in what would be one of Ukraine's longest-range attacks of the war, Kyiv's military said on Monday. Local Russian authorities confirmed the strike.
Location and Impact
In a statement, Ukraine's General Staff said that the strike had caused a fire at the Omsk refinery, located around 2,700 km (1,700 miles) from Ukrainian-held territory and close to Russia's border with Kazakhstan.
Russian Response
Vitaly Khotsenko, governor of the Omsk region, said Ukraine had attacked the refinery and said that Russian air defences had destroyed most of the drones involved in the strike.
There were no casualties and emergency services were working at the scene, Khotsenko said in a post on the Russian messaging app MAX. It was not immediately clear how much damage the refinery had sustained.
Ukrainian Perspective and Technology
Statements from Ukrainian Officials
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, described the attack as "an important achievement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine...Siberia, too, is now within reach of Ukrainian precision strikes."
Role of Fire Point and FP-1 Drones
The Ukrainian defence technology company Fire Point said its upgraded FP-1 drones carried out the attack and described it as a record for strike drones "not only in Ukraine, but worldwide. Prior to this, the Omsk oil refinery had remained out of reach for Ukrainian drones."
Significance of the Target
"The Omsk refinery had remained one of only two refineries in the top 10 that had never been hit by Ukrainian drones," Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh said in a statement.
"The other is the Angarsk Petrochemical Company in Irkutsk Oblast. Both are beyond the Urals. It was counted on to balance out the fuel crisis after the successful campaign by Ukraine’s Defense Forces."
Broader Impact on Russian Oil Infrastructure
Production and Fuel Supply
Sources told Reuters that the Gazpromneft-owned Omsk refinery processed around 23 million metric tons last year, or around 460,000 barrels per day.
Ukraine has been escalating a campaign of strikes against Russian oil refineries, at times causing acute fuel shortages across the country's 11 time zones.
Other Recent Strikes
Aside from Omsk, Ukraine's military overnight hit Russia's Ust-Luga and Vysotsk ports, which handle oil exports on the Baltic Sea, as well as targets in the Kaluga and Yaroslavl regions, local governors said.
Incidents in Crimea
In Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014, one woman was killed in a strike on the port of Kerch, Russian-installed authorities said. Sevastopol, the peninsula's largest city, suffered a blackout, they said.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Felix Light and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Sharon Singleton, Ron Popeski and Sanjeev Miglani)