Russian defense repels 12 Ukrainian drone attacks overnight
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Belgorod's Governor says that one civilian died and two were injured in a drone attack in the Chernyansky District, leaving several buildings damaged.
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In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 17, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, center, visits the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters. (AP)
The Russian Defense Ministry released a statement announcing that Russian air defenses intercepted 12 Ukrainian drones over four regions last night and destroyed them.
“This night, attempts by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks on targets on the territory of the Russian Federation using aircraft-type UAVs were stopped. Air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territories of Bryansk (5 UAVs), Belgorod (5 UAVs), Voronezh (1 UAV) and Saratov (1 UAV) regions,” it said in a statement.
However, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov stated that one civilian died and two were injured in a drone attack in the Chernyansky District.
Gladkov took to Telegram to make the announcement: "Unmanned aerial vehicles have attacked two municipalities - the Starooskolskiy District and the Chernyansky District. In the Chernyansky District, one civilian was killed and two people were injured."
"Early in the morning, Belgorod was shelled: private houses, apartment buildings were damaged, there are victims. The data is currently being clarified, I will definitely inform you a little later," he added.
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Meanwhile, "several drone attacks" were witnessed on local oil refineries in the region of Samara, according to Governor Dmitri Azarov on Telegram, who added that one of them caused a fire at the Kuibyshev refinery, but no casualties were reported.
The Kuibyshev refinery, run by Russian oil giant Rosneft, is Samara's largest as it produces around seven million tonnes per year, according to its official website. Another attack via drones targeting the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the region "was repelled without damaging the technological equipment," according to Azarov.
"We see that the enemy, which is suffering defeats on the battlefield, is doing everything possible to undermine our endurance and unity," he said.
This comes after the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing sources, that the US called on Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy facilities, fearing that these strikes could send oil prices higher and provoke a retaliation by Moscow.
Ukrainian top political and military officials have received repeated warnings from Washington to refrain from such attacks.
One source told the newspaper that Washington had "grown increasingly frustrated" by the "brazen" drone attacks carried out by Ukrainian forces against Russian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, storage facilities, and depots - which is impacting Russia's oil output capacity.
Moreover, the US is concerned that Russia could respond to these attacks by striking energy infrastructure "relied on by the West," FT added.
