Two people were injured as a result of a drone attack on an oil refinery. Overnight and into the morning of March 13, Russian air defense systems destroyed 58 Ukrainian drones on Russian territory
The Ryazan oil refinery was attacked by drones, resulting in a oil unit catching fire, two people were injured, and their condition is assessed as moderate by medical professionals, stated Pavel Malkov, the governor of the Ryazan region. He is at the scene of the incident. Emergency services are working there, extinguishing the fire. The fire has spread over an area of 150 square meters.
Transportation towards the Ryazan Oil Refinery, located just beyond the Ring Road, is closed, only special service vehicles are allowed to pass. Personal vehicles are being turned around by traffic police. An ambulance has passed by. Smoke can be seen from the industrial zone, where the oil refinery, owned by Rosneft, is located.
No infrastructure within the city itself was damaged, says Chief Editor of the online newspaper “From the Side” in Ryazan Konstantin Smirnov:
— Reports of injuries emerged, several ambulances were operating on-site. There is significant smoke, of course, visible from a distance, but there are reports claiming that it can supposedly be seen from the entire city, from all districts, this is not true, it is not that extensive. And overall, the reaction is calm, there is no panic among people.
— They say it’s the biggest attack in recent times.
— In terms of consequences, yes, the previous attacks did not reach anywhere, presumably, according to some versions, they were aimed at the oil refinery. But we also had an attack on military airfields in Dyagilevo, where three people were killed, so it depends on the criteria used. The oil refinery operates independently, so it is only linked to the city through its treatment facilities. As far as we understand, they were not affected, so, answering the question of how this has affected the city’s life, it hasn’t.
Today, in the Kirish district of the Leningrad region, a drone aircraft approaching the KINEF Surgutneftegaz plant was shot down. There were no casualties or damage, and production is operating as usual, said the governor of the region, Alexander Drozdenko. The aftermath at the crash site has been localized and resolved. This is the second attempted attack on Kirishi, with a drone also being shot down on approach to the city the day before. On Tuesday, a drone strike caused the shutdown of the Lukoil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region.
The main goal of such attacks is not to cause serious material damage, or, for example, to hinder the supply of fuel to Russian forces on the Ukrainian fronts, the main thing is to create a vivid picture for Ukrainian and Western media, believes Konstantin Simonov, a professor at the Financial University:
Konstantin Simonov Professor at the Financial University
A Ukrainian drone attacked the FSB building in Belgorod, no casualties, only the facade was damaged and windows were broken, according to emergency services.
Overnight, the Voronezh, Kursk, and Belgorod regions were targeted by drone attacks. Over the night and into the morning, 40 drones were destroyed over the Voronezh region, as reported by the governor of the region. Around 45,000 people in the Belgorod region were left without power due to shelling by Ukrainian forces in the Shebekino urban district, stated Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Eight drones were shot down over the Bryansk region, with no casualties or damage, wrote the region’s governor, Alexander Bogomaz.
Altogether, Russian air defense systems destroyed 58 Ukrainian drones overnight and into the morning of March 13, clarified the Ministry of Defense. 11 drones were shot down over the Belgorod region, eight over Bryansk, 29 over Voronezh, eight over Kursk, and one each over Ryazan and Leningrad regions.