Russian shelling killed four people in Ukraine on Saturday, while Ukrainian drones targeted an oil depot in Russia’s Rostov region, causing a significant fire. Early Saturday morning, drones operated by Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) attacked an oil depot in the Tsimlyansky district of Russia’s Rostov region. The strike set ablaze a facility storing various types of gasoline and diesel fuel, with a total volume of 12,500 cubic meters. Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev confirmed the incident on Telegram, noting that the fire spanned approximately 200 square meters and was extinguished hours later. Golubev reported no casualties from the attack.
💥 Russia: Oil depot in Tsimlyansk blown up by Ukrainian drones around 4am and the fire rages on hours later. Rostov region. pic.twitter.com/BU6etcMZ7k
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) July 13, 2024
The attack on the oil depot is part of a consistent strategy used by Ukraine to disrupt Russian supply lines and infrastructure. Ukrainian forces have increasingly targeted refineries and oil terminals within Russia in recent months to impede the Kremlin’s war efforts. Both Russia and Ukraine have extensively used drones, including self-detonating types, throughout the conflict.
Simultaneously, Russian shelling in Ukraine’s Kherson and Kharkiv regions resulted in four deaths and multiple injuries. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported that two people were killed and two others wounded near the regional capital. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov confirmed two additional fatalities and 22 injuries from the shelling.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that its air defense systems had downed four Ukrainian drones overnight—two in Rostov, one in Belgorod, and one in Kursk. Whereas, Ukraine’s air defenses intercepted four out of five drones launched by Russia, with the fifth drone heading towards Belarus, according to Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleschuk.
In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, eight people were wounded in the town of Shebekino due to shelling, as reported by Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.Â
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