Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia in an overnight attack targeting an oil facility serving a military airfield in the city of Engels, 600 kilometers (380 miles) from the border, Ukraine’s military said Wednesday.
Ukrainian officials reported a massive fire at the Kombinat Kristall oil depot, which provides fuel to the Engels-2 military airfield in the Saratov region, where Russia’s strategic bomber fleet is located. According to the Saratov region governor, at least two Russian firefighters were killed while responding to the fire.
“The destruction of the oil depot raises major logistic challenges for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupiers and significantly reduces their ability to strike Ukrainian cities,” Ukraine’s military said.
Wednesday’s drone attack is not the first time Ukraine has targeted Saratov, the central city which lies more than 600 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Long-range drone strikes have played a prominent role over the nearly three years of war and achieved considerable success, disrupting Russian logistics, damaging its weapons stockpiles, and setting multiple oil facilities ablaze.