Two civilians were reportedly killed in the latest Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian energy infrastructure in the Samara Oblast. Governor Dmitry Azarov, reported on Telegram that several drone strikes targeted his region on March 23, Saturday morning, resulting in one fatality and two injuries in total.
The Kuibyshev Oil Refinery, one of the largest in the Samara region and owned by Rosneft, was hit, causing a fire in its oil processing compartment.
While Ukrainian sources claim that the drone attack was partially successful, local authorities have denied that the fires were caused by Ukrainian actions, with the Russian Ministry of Defence announcing that its forces had destroyed “12 Ukrainian drones” in the regions of Bryansk, Belgorod, and Voronezh, which are all directly adjacent to Ukraine.
Notably, Samara lies approximately 800 km (500 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Later that day, explosions were also reported in the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery, about 30 km (18.6 miles) from Kuibushev.
The U.S. has reportedly urged Ukraine, through national and military intelligence channels, to halt its attacks against Russian oil refineries so as not to hike global oil prices and provoke retaliation.
On the other hand, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former Commander of U.S. Forces Europe, has urged Ukraine to ignore “the calls for an end to such attacks” in a speech at the 16th annual Kyiv Security Forum on March 22.
The attack at Samara comes as a continuation of a Ukrainian asymmetric drone campaign since March 13 that has seen attacks against the Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow and numerous oil refineries.
British intelligence claims that “at least 10% of Russian refinery capacities” could have been affected as a result of Ukrainian disruptions.