Ukrainian Drones Strike Russia's Largest Refinery, One of the Farthest Attacks Since War Began

Key News on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

(CNA Taipei, July 7, 2024, Taipei time) The Ukrainian military announced today that its drones struck Russia's largest refinery in Omsk, deep in Siberia, marking one of the farthest Ukrainian attacks since the war began. Local Russian authorities confirmed the strike.

According to Reuters, the Omsk refinery is located near the border of Russia and Kazakhstan, approximately 2,700 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory. The Ukrainian General Staff issued a statement saying the strike caused a fire at the refinery.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his regular evening address video, described the attack as a "major achievement" for the Ukrainian forces, stating, "Now Siberia is also within the range of Ukraine's precision strikes."

Vitaly Khotsenko, the governor of the Omsk region, confirmed on the Russian messaging app MAX that Ukraine had attacked the Omsk refinery. However, he stated that Russian air defense systems had destroyed most of the drones involved in the attack and that there were no casualties.

Khotsenko also said that emergency services were still operating at the scene. The extent of the damage to the refinery is currently unclear.

Ukrainian defense technology company Fire Point stated that their upgraded FP-1 drones were used in this strike, setting a record for attack drone strikes "not only in Ukraine but also in the world," because "before this, Ukrainian drones had not been able to reach the Omsk refinery."

Iryna Terekh, CEO of Fire Point, stated in a press release that out of Russia's top 10 refineries, only two had not been hit by Ukrainian drones: the Omsk refinery and the Angarsk refinery in Irkutsk Oblast, both located east of the Ural Mountains.

He said that after successful refinery attacks by the Ukrainian military on Russia, Russia had relied on these two refineries to alleviate its fuel crisis. (Intern intern reporter: Zhuo Youan / Editor: Zhang Zhengqian) 1150707

Stand with facts, your every donation is a force to protect press freedom

Download CNA's "One-Stop News" APP for real-time updates

The text, images, and audio on this website may not be reproduced, broadcast, transmitted, or used without authorization.