[Ukraine Claims to Strike Russia’s Largest Oil Refinery in Drone Attack, Causing Fire
Ukraine has claimed to have struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in a drone attack, setting a fire at the facility over 700 miles into Russian territory. The attack, which marks the second time the Taneco refinery in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan has been hit by Ukrainian forces in under a year, caused massive flames and smoke to erupt in the dark skies.
The refinery, one of the most modern and largest in Russia, has a refining capacity of over 16 million tons of oil per year and plays a critical role in supplying fuel to the Russian army. The destruction of refineries and oil depots directly affects Russia’s ability to wage an intense war, according to Ukrainian official Andrii Kovalenko.
The attack on the Taneco refinery is the farthest Ukraine has struck into Russian territory since the beginning of the war. It is the second time the refinery has been targeted, with a previous attack in the spring of 2024 damaging the primary processing unit.
Social media images, geolocated by CNN, appear to show workers trudging through the snow to evacuate the facility as flames and smoke billow into the air. However, the press service of the Republic of Tatarstan has denied the attack, claiming the fire footage is actually a mock evacuation exercise and the glowing facility is merely the result of work by the plant’s torches.
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