Russia's Ilsky oil refinery catches fire, Taganrog evacuates after drone attacks

A drone attack on Russia's Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region sparked a fire, while separate strikes in Taganrog led to evacuations, with no reported injuries.

Russia's Ilsky oil refinery in the southern ‌Krasnodar region caught fire after a drone attack, while authorities in the city of Taganrog evacuated people following a separate strike, local officials ‌said on Friday. No one was injured, according to preliminary information, the ‌authorities said.

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia's energy and other infrastructure in recent months to undermine Moscow's war effort. The Ilsky refinery, with a ⁠capacity ​of around 138,000 barrels ⁠per day, has been attacked several times before. The attacks on oil ⁠refineries have resulted in fuel shortages, long queues at the filling stations ​and fuel price rises across Russia.

In Russia's Rostov region, fires were ⁠being extinguished at two fuel depots and at the Taganrog sea port, Governor ⁠Yury Slyusar ​said on Telegram. Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova said on the Max messaging app that the authorities evacuated people from their ⁠houses in the affected areas. She said a private house was ⁠damaged and ⁠the roof of an administrative building caught fire.

The Russian Defence Ministry said air defence units had downed 376 ‌Ukrainian ‌drones overnight.