Russia's Volgograd region has been subjected to a series of drone attacks by Ukraine. According to regional head Andrey Bocharov, fire was caused by debris from unmanned aerial vehicles shot down over the fuel and energy infrastructure in the Kotovsky district. "Firefighters are quickly arriving and resolving the situation," he said on Telegram, without disclosing which objects were damaged.
Local residents told Astra that a fire broke out at the Korobkovsky gas processing plant, part of Lukoil. This enterprise is one of the largest natural gas processing facilities in the Southern Federal District.
New satellite images (NASA monitoring) also confirm the fires. In the footage, signs of fire are also visible around the "Yefimovka" oil pumping station, which is part of the infrastructure of JSC "Transneft-Privolga."
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 19 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight, nine of which were shot down over Volgograd. Nevertheless, fragments and impacts caused flames in some objects.
Background: the geography and impact of attacks are expanding
Since the beginning of August, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been carrying out regular strikes on Russia's energy chain - oil and gas refineries and pumping stations. In the last two months, every third oil refinery in the country has become a target of attacks.
As a result of the September strikes, the Novokuybyshevsk Refinery, Gazprom's Astrakhan Gas Processing Complex, and Rosneft's Ryazan Refinery, which supplies the main fuel to the Moscow region, were completely or partially shut down. In the first week of October, it was reported that at least five more refineries were hit.
What is expected?
- Supply risk: partial downtime increases pressure on internal logistics and inventory management.
- Air Defense Load: PVO activity in border areas is expected to increase further.
- Cascade effect: disruption of pumping stations and gas-oil refining can cause local changes in the fuel market.
Officials have not yet provided further details on the extent of the damage and the timing of recovery. In any case, recent attacks have once again brought the weaknesses of the energy infrastructure to the forefront.
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