Massive Fire At Oil Tank In Russia-Annexed Crimea After Suspected Drone Strike: Report

The reported drone strike comes a day after Russia launched a wave of air strikes in cities across Ukraine, killing at least 25 people, the first such attack in months.

Emergency personnel work on top floors of the destroyed residential building that was hit during the Russian attack in Uman.

Source : Getty Images

New Delhi: A reported drone attack that triggered a massive fire at a fuel storage facility in Crimean port city of Sevastopol has been extinguished, news agency Reuters quoted the Moscow-installed governor as saying. According to the report, no casualty has been reported.

“Open fire was extinguished in an area of 1,000 square meters,” Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said on the Telegram messaging app.

According to Russian-appointed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, the air defence and electronic warfare forces shot down two drones over the Crimean Peninsula on Saturday. “There are no casualties or destruction,” he said on Telegram.

It is to be noted that Sevastopol on Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, has come under repeated air strikes since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

Meanwhile, the Russian officials have blamed the attacks on Ukraine. However, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s armed forces said he did not have any information to suggest Ukraine was responsible for Saturday’s drone attack.

According to a report by BBC, the drone strike comes a day after Russia launched a wave of air strikes in cities across Ukraine, killing at least 25 people, the first such attack in months.

Friday’s air strike killed 23 people, including four children, in the central Ukrainian city of Uman, BBC reported. Kyiv was also targeted for the first time in 51 days. However, there were no reports of casualties in the Ukrainian capital.

The Russian defence ministry said its military had targeted the Ukrainian army reserve units. Notably, Moscow had earlier said that it does not deliberately target civilians, but thousands have been injured and killed across Ukraine since Russia's invasion, as per reports.

Reacting the fresh air attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this calls for further international action against Russia.

"Evil can be stopped by weapons... And it can be stopped by sanctions - global sanctions must be enhanced," he said in a tweet on Friday.