Ukrainian drone struck several gas and energy plants in Southern Russia overnight on February 3. The strikes have halted the operation at many plants with fire being triggered at a major oil refinery and gas processing plant.
Sharing the details of the attack, Ukrainian Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the National Security and Defense Council, mentioned the Astrakhan gas processing plant to have been hit.
The plant, controlled by gas giant Gazprom has a processing capability of around 8,340 metric tons of gas condensate per day. It produced 703,000 tons of gasoline, or 1.6% of Russia’s total, along with 492,000 tons of diesel (0.6%) and 299,000 tons of fuel oil (0.7%) in 2023.
Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov stated, “The air defense forces of the defense ministry repelled a massive attack by aircraft-type drones on the territory of the Volgograd region.”
The fire at the plant has been contained, however, the governor claimed the plant to have suspended its operations before coming under attack.
Furthermore, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 70 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including 27 over Rostov, 25 over Volgograd, seven over Astrakhan, five over Voronezh, four over Belgorod, and two over Kursk.
Videos of a processing plant engulfed in giant flames and thick black smoke rising into the night sky have been shared on social media, with bystanders expressing shock at the magnitude of the fire.
Unverified videos on social media showed giant flames and black smoke leaping into the night sky above a processing plant, as bystanders expressed shock at the size of the fire.
