Russia Downs 113 Ukrainian Drones in Massive Overnight Attack
Russia says it destroyed 113 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one that caused a fire at an oil refinery, as US-brokered Geneva talks ended without breakthrough.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Flashes lit the night sky across western Russia as air defenses intercepted more than one hundred drones, while an oil storage tank ignited in a refinery strike hundreds of kilometers from Moscow, officials said.
Russian officials said on Thursday that their forces destroyed 113 Ukrainian drones overnight, with one attack targeting an oil refinery in the northwest and causing a fire in a storage tank.
The Russian defense ministry stated that during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, its forces “intercepted and destroyed 113 Ukrainian drones.”
One of the drone attacks targeted an oil refinery in Velikiye Luki, around 500 kilometers (300 miles) west of Moscow. Regional Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said the strike caused “a fire in an oil storage tank.”
According to initial reports, the attack did not result in any injuries among civilians or refinery staff, he added.
The developments came as both sides concluded two days of US-brokered talks in Geneva on Wednesday, aimed at seeking a settlement to four years of war in Ukraine.
Both parties described the meeting as “difficult,” and no breakthrough was announced.
Ukraine, which has faced near-daily Russian bombardments over the past four years, has been conducting retaliatory strikes on oil refineries as well as Russian port and energy infrastructure.
With no diplomatic breakthrough and cross-border attacks continuing, the conflict shows little sign of immediate de-escalation.