A massive inferno broke out at a major oil depot in western Russia on Friday after Ukrainian drone operators launched an airstrike on the facility.
The attack is the second on a Russian oil depot in as many days after Kiev yesterday claimed a rare attack on a storage facility in Russia’s northern Leningrad region.
Today’s operation targeted a depot in the town of Klintsy in the Bryansk region, some 72 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, forcing dozens of residents to evacuate their homes nearby while 13 fire engines were deployed in a desperate bid to limit the damage.
Images on social media showed a huge cloud of black smoke billowing over the Klintsy facility after the attack, which Russian officials also confirmed was a drone strike.
Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said: “Ukrainian terrorists attempted to attack facilities in the city of Klintsy using an unmanned aerial vehicle.
“The fixed-wing drone was jammed by the Russian Defense Ministry’s electronic warfare systems. However, ammunition fell on the Klintsy oil depot during the destruction of the air target.‘
No casualties have been reported at the facility.
The attack is the second on a Russian oil depot in as many days after Kiev yesterday claimed a rare attack on a storage facility in Russia’s northern Leningrad region.
A major fire broke out after an explosion when a Ukrainian drone hit an oil depot in Klintsy, Russia’s Bryansk region.
Despite the terrible damage, there were no casualties at the facility
The flames climbing above the Klintsy oil depot can be seen from a passing train
Images on social media showed a huge cloud of black smoke billowing over the Klintsy facility after the attack
The attack was an operation carried out by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, a Ukrainian security source claimed.
Kiev has targeted Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure throughout the nearly two-year conflict. According to them, the attacks are fair retaliation for attacks on Ukrainian territory.
On Thursday, Ukraine claimed responsibility for a rare drone attack in the northern region of Leningrad, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
It came after a top defense chief revealed that NATO forces are bracing for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years.
Admiral Rob Bauer, the chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, urged both citizens and governments to prepare for cataclysmic conflict and the chilling prospect of conscription.
‘We must realize that it cannot be taken for granted that we will have peace. And that is why we (NATO forces) have these plans, that is why we are preparing for a conflict with Russia,” Bauer told reporters after a meeting of NATO defense chiefs in Brussels.
‘But the discussion is much broader. It is also the industrial base and also the people who need to understand that they have a role to play.”
In a stark warning, he said civilians must be ready for a conflict in the next 20 years that would require widespread changes in their lives.
Bauer said large numbers of citizens will have to be mobilized in case a global war breaks out and that governments must ensure their countries are “war-ready.”
‘We need public and private actors to change their mindset from an era in which everything was plannable, predictable, controllable and focused on efficiency, to an era in which anything can happen at any time. An era in which we must expect the unexpected,” Bauer warned.
Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said: “Ukrainian terrorists attempted to attack facilities in the city of Klintsy using an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Kiev has targeted Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure throughout the nearly two-year conflict. According to them, the attacks are fair retaliation for attacks on Ukrainian territory.
Dozens of residents had to evacuate their homes nearby as 13 fire engines were deployed in a desperate bid to limit the damage
Admiral Rob Bauer, the chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, urged both citizens and governments to prepare for conflict and possible conscription
A top defense chief has revealed that NATO forces are preparing for all-out war with Russia within the next 20 years
The comments come at a time when the conflict in the Middle East threatens to spread
The senior Dutch military boss added: ‘You have to be able to rely on an industrial base that can produce weapons and ammunition quickly enough to be able to continue a conflict if you are in it.’
Adm. Bauer also praised Sweden for urging all its citizens to brace for war before joining NATO. This move has led to a sharp increase in the number of volunteers for the Swedish Civil Protection Organization.
It comes as NATO plans to mobilize 90,000 troops in its biggest military maneuver since the Cold War, with the war games aimed at stopping Vladimir Putin from attacking a member state.
The alliance announced the exercise would begin next week, with months of drills aimed at showing the alliance can defend all of its territory up to the border with Russia.
The exercises, dubbed ‘Steadfast Defender’, will be carried out until the end of May and will involve units from all 31 NATO member states plus candidate member Sweden, said NATO Supreme Commander Europe, US General Christopher Cavoli.
The war games are intended as a further show of strength for NATO and its commitment to defend all allied countries from attack.
