KYIV, (AP):- Another oil facility deep inside Russia was reportedly on fire Wednesday after what Ukraine’s president claimed was his country’s latest long-range drone attack.
Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU, said it struck an oil pumping station near the city of Perm as part of efforts to target Russia’s energy infrastructure. The area is more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from Ukraine.
Russian media reported the attack, though Perm Gov. Dmitry Makhonin said only that a drone hit an unspecified industrial facility, sparking a fire.
Russian officials have not been forthcoming about Ukrainian claims that Kyiv is carrying out more long-range attacks and that its domestically developed drones are increasingly accurate.
Speaking about Ukraine during a call with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kyiv was inciting other European leaders and “prolonging the conflict,” presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Advanced drone technology has become a defining feature of the war as Russia’s bigger army presses its more than four-year invasion of its neighbor.
Ukraine claims it hit a key Russian oil hub
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video on Telegram showing a large plume of black smoke rising in countryside near a built-up area. Without specifying it was the Perm attack or what was hit, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was expanding the range of its long-distance strikes.
He called them a new phase in efforts to limit Russia’s ability to wage war by denying it crucial oil revenue.
It was not possible to independently verify the video.
The SBU claimed that most oil storage tanks were ablaze at the facility, which it said is owned by Russia’s pipeline operator Transneft and a key hub in the oil transportation system. The claims could not be independently verified.
The attack came a day after Ukraine struck the Tuapse oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting what Putin said could be “serious environmental consequences.” Local authorities said the fire had been “contained” by Wednesday.