The skies of Russia’s Perm region were engulfed with black smoke on Wednesday morning after Ukrainian drones attacked an industrial facility, which Ukrainian media identified as oil pipeline infrastructure.
Perm region Governor Dmitry Makhonin, without naming the facility, confirmed that a fire had broken out as a result of a drone strike. He said workers at the site had been evacuated and that no one was injured.
Unverified reports in Ukrainian media suggested that a Transneft oil pumping station was targeted in the attack.
In a separate strike on the Orenburg region, which borders northern Kazakhstan, a Ukrainian drone reportedly hit the Orsknefteorgsintez refinery located in the city of Orsk, around 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) east of Ukraine.
Orenburg region Governor Yevgeny Solntsev said four drones were intercepted as they tried to target “several industrial sites” but did not provide further details.
Orsknefteorgsintez, which has an annual processing capacity of 6.6 million metric tons of oil, was previously attacked in October and November.
Wednesday’s drone strikes come as Ukraine steps up its attacks on Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure in a bid to deprive the Kremlin of energy windfalls amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
This week, Ukrainian drones attacked and set fire to a Rosneft oil refinery in the southern port town of Tuapse for a third time this month, prompting an evacuation of residents living near the facility.
Authorities said Wednesday morning that the fire at the Tuapse refinery was put out after hundreds of emergency responders were deployed to battle the blaze.
The mounting attacks come at a fragile moment for the global energy market, as oil prices tick back toward last month’s highs due to a lack of progress in peace talks between the United States and Iran.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this week accused Ukraine of exacerbating the global oil crisis with its continued attacks on oil export hubs.
June Brent crude contracts were trading above $114 per barrel on Wednesday morning.
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