Ukraine launched attacks on Russian border regions early Wednesday, targeting the southern Rostov and western Bryansk regions with missiles and drones. The strikes caused a fire at an oil depot and damaged an industrial facility, according to officials.
Videos from Bryansk showed a fireball lighting up the night sky, while air raid sirens were heard in the Rostov region. Kyiv claimed responsibility for the Bryansk attack, stating it struck an oil depot supplying the Russian army. The Ukrainian army described the depot as a loading point for the Druzhba oil pipeline, a critical route for Russian oil exports to Central Europe. “A massive fire broke out,” Ukraine’s general staff confirmed, though no comment was made on the Rostov attack.
In the Rostov region, Governor Vasily Golubev reported that a Ukrainian missile strike had hit an industrial enterprise in the port city of Taganrog, causing significant damage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky celebrated the strikes, calling them “tangible blows against Russian targets” that contribute to ending the war. In a Telegram post, Zelensky said, “We hit military facilities on the territory of Russia, as well as facilities of the fuel and energy complex, which is working for aggression against our state and people.”
Ukraine has intensified its targeting of Russian oil and gas facilities this year, aiming to cripple Moscow’s energy sector. These strikes have inflicted billions of dollars in damages. Meanwhile, Russia has taken steps to protect key refineries and depots, some of which have been equipped with air defense systems.
The governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz, stated that Ukrainian drones attacked a production facility but that the resulting fire had been extinguished. Ukraine views these strikes as legitimate retaliation for Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, which have left millions of Ukrainians without power.
