For the second time in a month, Ukrainian forces have launched a major drone attack on Russia’s Saratov region, striking an oil refinery and a key military airbase.
In the early hours of Tuesday, Feb. 11, multiple drones targeted “an industrial facility” in Saratov, causing damage, according to regional governor Roman Busargin.
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“Emergency teams are working at the sites where debris may have fallen. No casualties have been reported so far,” he wrote on Telegram.
According to ASTRA Telegram channel, the attack hit the Saratov Oil Refinery, which is operated by Rosneft.
Witnesses in one of the city districts reported hearing explosions and seeing a fire at the refinery. This is the second drone strike on the facility in recent weeks - on Jan. 14, a similar attack also put the oil hub ablaze.
The city of Engels, home to a major Russian military airbase, was also hit by drones, according to Shot. Around 4 a.m., residents reported loud explosions and what sounded like “machine gun fire” near the airfield.
Engels Airbase, located across the Volga River from Saratov, houses Russia’s strategic bombers, including Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft, which are frequently used to launch cruise missile strikes on Ukraine.
This is not the first time Ukrainian drones have targeted the base. A similar attack on Jan.14 was followed by a massive fire at the Kristall oil depot, which supplies fuel to Russian bombers. That fire burned for five days and killed two emergency workers. The facility had also been hit on Jan. 8, causing another fire.
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The Russian Defense Ministry claims that air defense systems intercepted 40 Ukrainian drones overnight. Due to the drone threat, several airports - including those in Kazan, Kirov, Saratov, and Ulyanovsk -- temporarily halted flights, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency.
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