The Ukrainian military on Aug. 28 attacked oil depots in Russia's Rostov Oblast and, for the first time, in Kirov Oblast some 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Aug. 29.
This comes as the official confirmation of the attacks, which were reported the previous day by the Kyiv Independent's military intelligence sources.
The Ukrainian military intelligence agency and the Special Operations Forces attacked the Atlas oil depot in Rostov Oblast overnight on Aug. 28, causing damage and setting the facility's oil tanks ablaze, the General Staff said.
Local emergency services arrived on the scene to put out the fire with fire trucks.
According to the Kyiv Independent's source, the Atlas depot was hit by Ukrainian domestic-made drones.
The facility, located less than 30 kilometers (under 20 miles) from the border with Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast and under 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of the front line, specializes in supplying Russian Armed Forces, the source said. It lies near the village of Molodezhnyi in the Kamensky district.
The Russian Telegram channel Astra reported at around 10:50 p.m. local time that another blast occurred at the burning facility, showing footage of a renewed, powerful blaze.
Ukrainian forces also struck the Zenit oil facility in Kotelnich, Kirov Oblast, and a Russian field artillery warehouse in western Voronezh Oblast, according to the General Staff.
"The target (in Kirov Oblast) is located more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) away from Ukraine's border. The Zenit oil depot is a facility of the enemy military-industrial complex and provides fuel to the Russian occupation forces," the Kyiv Independent's source said.
According to Kirov Oblast Governor Alexander Sokolov, Russian air defenses shot down two drones while three others "fell" and started a fire near the Zenit facility.
The full consequences of the attacks are being determined.
The BBC's Russian service reported on Aug. 28 that Ukrainian drones have attacked oil refineries and infrastructure sites in Russia and on Russian-occupied territories, including Crimea, at least 64 times this year.
Martin Fornusek
