Russia reports shooting down drones, silent on refinery fire
The Russian Defense Ministry has claimed that its air defense forces shot down five Ukrainian drones over its territory during the night. These incidents included three in the Bryansk region, one in the Moscow region, and one in the Belgorod region. However, they failed to acknowledge the sixth drone, which targeted a refinery in the Kaluga region.
6:42 AM EDT, May 10, 2024
In the Kaluga region, situated about 186 miles from the Ukraine border, a drone attack on a refinery ignited a massive fire, as depicted in pictures shared on local Telegram channels.
Local residents reported hearing explosions at night, preceded by the distinct sound of drones overhead.
Vladislav Shapsha, the Governor of Kaluga, conveyed through his Telegram channel that the fire was swiftly contained and has been extinguished, with no injuries reported. He also mentioned that the extent of the damage to the refinery's infrastructure is currently under assessment.
Despite prior reports, the Russian Ministry of Defense has not mentioned the incident in the Kaluga region while recounting the drone attacks across Russia, according to the BBC. Their statements only highlighted the downing of five drones in the other areas without acknowledging the situation in Kaluga.
This recent incident marks another attack on the same refinery, following a similar event on March 15, where drone strikes caused a significant fire at the oil refining facilities.
