Ukraine strikes Russian air force oil depot

Ukraine said on Wednesday that its forces had hit an oil depot used by the Russian air force hundreds of kilometers inside Russian territory.

The strike marks the latest in an escalating series of cross-border attacks on energy and military facilities on both sides, including a Wednesday daytime Russian missile attack on the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia which killed at least 13 civilians.

Regarding the Kyiv strike on the oil depot in Russia, the Ukrainian general staff said in a statement: "Ukrainian defense forces hit Russian oil depot in Engels" in the Saratov region.

The statement added: "The destruction of the oil depot creates serious logistical problems for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupants and significantly reduces their ability to strike at peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects."

Ukraine's presidential adviser Oleksandr Kamyshin said the military used Ukrainian-made long-range capabilities in the attack.

Engels residents hear explosion, state of emergency declared

Moscow later confirmed the strike. The Defense Ministry said that they had downed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 11 in the Saratov region. Authorities in the region said that the strikes had also caused significant fires at an industrial site.

Some Engels residents posted in a Telegram chat room that they had heard dozens of explosions.

"There are sufficient forces and resources to localize the fire," Roman Busargin, the regional governor, posted on Telegram.

Busargin later said that two firefighters died tackling the blaze, which he said was the result of a Ukrainian drone attack. He also declared a state of emergency in Engels.  

At the same time, Kyiv said that its armed forces had down 63 Russian drones overnight. In the southern region of Kherson, at least two Ukrainians were killed and five wounded due to Russian shelling.

Russian missile attack in southern Ukraine kills at least 13, officials say

Also on Wednesday, a daytime Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 civilians while wounding dozens more, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted footage on Telegram showing civilians lying in a street littered with debris.

Zelenskyy and regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said the death toll from the attack was at least 13.

Minutes before the attack, Fedorov had warned of a threat of missiles and devastating glide bombs being fired toward the Zaporizhzhia region, before he added that at least two bombs hit residential buildings.

"There is nothing more brutal than aerial bombing of a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer," Zelenskyy posted on Telegram, while Fedorov said that Thursday would be a day of mourning in the region.

jsi, es/lo, ab (AFP, Reuters, AP)