By Russian officials and media outlets reported on Wednesday that a massive Ukrainian drone attack targeted multiple Russian oil and power facilities, including a nuclear power plant.
The attack highlighted the escalating conflict between the two nations and raised concerns about the potential for further damage to critical infrastructure.
The specific details of the attack, including the extent of the damage and any potential casualties, are still emerging.
Air defences intercepted drones
Russian Governor Vasily Anokhin said that air defense systems successfully intercepted and destroyed a drone that was attempting to attack a nuclear power plant in the western Smolensk region, which borders Belarus.
Meanwhile, RIA state news agency reported that the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant, the largest power generating plant in Russia’s northwest, was operating as normal, according to the plant’s press service.
The Russian defense ministry reported via Telegram that 104 drones were involved in attacks across western Russia.
Of those drones, 11 were destroyed over the Smolensk region.
Drones were destroyed by Russian air defenses over nine regions.
Almost half of the drones were destroyed over Kursk, where Russian forces are fighting to drive out Ukrainian troops who have occupied several villages, according to a Reuters report.
Impact on oil market
The escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine could be cause for concerns for the global oil market.
Russia is one of the top exporters of crude oil. If the conflict escalates with Ukraine, more oil facilities could be targeted, which is likely to affect supply from the country.
Oil prices were, however, in the red on Wednesday, and did not react to the Ukrainian attack.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Brent crude oil prices had shot up to nearly $140 per barrel, a more than 14-year high.
Prices have since then fallen from those peaks, and are currently around $76 a barrel.
Supply of oil from Russia had already been strained this year so far after the US sanctioned supply from the country.
Fresh sanctions were imposed by the US on Russia’s oil producers, tankers and insurers in an attempt to trim down Moscow’s revenues from exports.
Operations halted
Operations at Sibur’s Kstovo plant were temporarily halted on Wednesday morning due to a fire caused by debris from a Ukrainian drone, the Russian petrochemicals giant said.
The company stated that emergency services were present at the site, and that there were no casualties at the plant.
The plant is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region, approximately 800 km (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
A drone attack on the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, injured one person who was then hospitalized, according to the regional governor.
Rosaviatsia, the Russian aviation watchdog, had temporarily suspended flights at two airports: Kazan airport in the Republic of Tatarstan and Pulkovo airport in the Leningrad region, Reuters said on Wednesday.
The airports have since resumed operations, as per statements released on Rosaviatsia’s Telegram channel.
The ongoing conflict, initiated by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has seen both sides vehemently deny accusations of targeting civilians in their attacks.
Kyiv maintains that its military operations within Russian territory are strategically focused on disrupting infrastructure essential to Moscow’s war efforts.
This stance underscores the complex dynamics of the conflict, where attacks on infrastructure are justified as a means to weaken the adversary’s military capabilities, while accusations of civilian casualties highlight the devastating humanitarian consequences of the war.
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