A fire erupted in an oil depot in Russia overnight following Ukrainian strikes. The city of Penza, located southeast of Moscow, was attacked by Ukrainian forces overnight on Friday, Penza Oblast Governor Oleg Melnichenko reported. Early reports indicate there were no casualties and the fire was extinguished by 46 firefighters using 14 fire appliances. Melnichenko said that mobile data restrictions were put in place amid the reported drone attack.
He added: “I am at the scene. According to updated information, four drones were intercepted by air defence systems. Debris from one of them fell on the territory of the fuel depot, causing a fire. Emergency services are continuing to work at the scene.”
Following the attack, the Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones overnight. Seven were shot down over Belgorod Oblast, two over Voronezh Oblast, and one each over Bryansk, Penza and Astrakhan Oblasts, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Separately from the attack in Penza, Ukraine‘s General Staff claims to have caused 1,280 Russian casualties in the last 24 hours. To date, Russia has suffered 1,232,090 casualties since the beginning of the war. It must be acknowledged that these are Ukrainian sources, as Moscow does not share exact figures. According to the UK’s Ministry of Defence’s latest report, about 900,000 Russian soldiers have been wounded or killed since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Out of these, 200,000 to 250,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, Russia’s largest losses since World War 2, the MoD said.