At least two people were killed as Ukraine launched another nightly round of drone strikes across Russia, regional authorities said early Friday, as two oil refineries were reported to have been hit during the air barrage.
Authorities in the Perm region, located east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains, said drones targeted an “industrial facility,” killing a man.
“Emergency services are currently working on-site to clear the aftermath of the strike at an industrial facility,” Perm region Governor Dmitry Makhonin wrote in a post on Telegram.
Makhonin did identify the industrial facility, but said local government air monitoring “indicates that pollutant levels have not been exceeded, and there is no threat to nearby residents.”
Images shared on social media appeared to show a large, black smoke cloud rising into the sky above the city of Perm on Friday morning. NASA satellite imagery also showed the smoke, which was blowing to the southwest.
Independent media reports identified the industrial facility as a Lukoil-operated oil refinery.
A man was also killed in the western border region of Belgorod after a drone crashed into the vehicle he was driving, authorities said.
In separate strikes on the Ulyanovsk region, located along the Volga River, authorities said at least eight people were injured, while several industrial and civilian sites were damaged. Classes at schools and colleges in the region were canceled on Friday due to the attack.
Further to the south, in the Rostov region bordering eastern Ukraine, officials said drone strikes damaged the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery. No one was hurt, Governor Yury Slyuser said in a post on Telegram, adding that the refinery suspended operations.
The Novoshakhtinsk refinery sells fuel mostly for export and processes around 100,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Reuters.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 592 Ukrainian drones across Russia and annexed Crimea between Thursday night and Friday morning.
Authorities in Ukraine, meanwhile, said a 14-year-old boy was killed in an overnight Russian attack on Kyiv. At leat nine others were injured, they added.
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