A new fire broke out this Friday at a Russian oil refinery near Ukraine, which was the target of an attack on Thursday, but the versions of the authorities differ as to the origin of the fire.
The Russian news agency TASS, citing a source in the emergency services, reported that the fire was caused by a new attack with a buzz (drone), just like Thursday.
Another source in the emergency services told the RIA Novosti news agency that it was a re-ignition of petroleum products that had leaked after Thursday’s attack.
The Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, near Crimea and about 250 kilometers from the Ukrainian coast, was hit by a buzz unidentified Thursday, according to local authorities.
The attack caused a fire in one of the tanks of the oil installation, which was quickly extinguished, according to the authorities, quoted by the French agency AFP.
The fire on Friday was also quickly brought under control, “before the arrival of the firefighters,” the local delegation of the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported, according to the Interfax agency.
“The refinery workers were quickly evacuated. No one was injured,” he added.
In recent days, the Russian regions close to Ukraine and Crimea (annexed to Moscow in 2014) have been the target of attacks with drones and sabotage on railway lines.
The series of attacks comes days before Russia’s main military celebrations on May 9.
Moscow claimed to have shot down two drones Ukrainians targeting the Kremlin (presidency) on Tuesday night, the most spectacular attack attributed to kyiv since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, as usual, but the surge in action comes as Kiev says it has completed preparations for a counter-offensive, which it has been planning for weeks.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out unprecedented “terrorist and sabotage activities” on Russian soil, including the alleged attack on the Kremlin.
Moscow even alleged that Kiev attempted to “assassinate Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on the eve of the May 9 parade marking the victory of Soviet forces against the Nazi German regime of Adolf Hitler in 1945.
In that parade will be present “veterans of the Great Patriotic War who shed blood in the fight against Nazism and fascism, including on the territory of Ukraine,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered a war that plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, say it will be very high.
Source: TSF
