Russian border province governor Vasily Anokhin reported that Ukraine had deployed UAVs to attack energy infrastructure, causing a large fire at an oil refinery in Smolensk province. This attack was part of a larger series of overnight attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian air defense successfully intercepted and destroyed a total of eight Ukrainian UAVs in different provinces.
Witness reports and videos showed a large fire at an oil refinery in Smolensk province as a result of the attacks. Governors in other provinces, such as Voronezh and Lipetsk Oblast, also reported incidents involving Ukrainian UAVs. Ukraine has been increasing its deployment of large-scale UAV attacks against Russian energy infrastructure. Recent attacks on Moscow’s territory have caused explosions and civilian casualties. Ukrainian forces seem to be upgrading and enhancing their use of drones for these attacks, targeting Russia’s energy facilities to disrupt supplies and damage the export industry.
The leader of the Russian border province said that Ukrainian UAVs targeted the area but did not specify the number. The exact number of aircraft deployed by Ukraine is unknown. Western experts believe that these attacks are aimed at Moscow’s economic lifeline, leaving Russia vulnerable in the event of a conflict. Ukraine’s UAV attacks are becoming more sophisticated, with some reports suggesting that Ukrainian forces have equipped the drones with artificial intelligence technology to overcome electronic jamming.
