The Ukrainian military achieved a rare feat on Thursday hitting at a Russian oil refinery in Bashkortostan, nearly 1,000 miles from the border with Ukraine.
The attack is described as the most far-reaching drone attack on a Russian target since the war commenced with the Russia invasion of Ukraine.
Newsweek reports sources in Ukraine’s Security Service telling Ukrainska Pravda that Ukraine was behind the attack on Russia’s Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery on Thursday morning.
It marked the first drone strike on the republic during Russia’s attempted full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
“According to the source of Ukrainska Pravda, it was a security service drone that established a record by traveling 1,500 kilometers (930 miles),” the publication reported.
Kyiv has ramped up its attacks on Russian refineries this year, resulting in hampering gasoline production in Russia.
A Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Olha Stefanishyna, said in March that Russian oil refineries were legitimate military targets for Ukraine in the war.
The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of trying to carry out terrorist attacks using drones.
Head of Ukraine’s Security Service, Vasyl Malyuk had in March said the government agency was behind all attacks on Russian oil hubs and that they would continue.
The Ukrainian agency has estimated that it has carried out at least 13 successful attacks on Russian oil refineries during the war so far.
Ukraine’s security service also claimed responsibility for last month drone attack on a Russian oil refinery in the republic of Tatarstan which is located some 800 miles from the border with Ukraine.
However, the head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, said on his Telegram channel Thursday that the Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery was operating as usual after the attack.
“A drone attacked the industrial zone of Salavat city at around 13:00 today, after which there was smoke at one of the installations of Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat,” Khabirov said.
He added that there have been no reported casualties in the aftermath of the attack.
A source in Ukraine’s Security Service told Ukrainian news outlet RBC that it has “once again proved that it has powerful technological solutions that help to inflict painful blows on the enemy.”
“This means that Russian refineries and oil depots working for the Russian military-industrial complex cannot feel safe even in the deep rear,” the source added.
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