A Russian oil tank near Ukraine’s northern border has caught fire after the military brought down a Ukrainian drone trying to attack targets in the town, a local official has claimed.
Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine and Belarus, said that while Russian forces had used electronic warfare to down the drone, its munitions had hit the Klintsy oil depot and caused a fire. Russian news outlet Tass has since claimed the fire is 1,000 square metres, adding that four fuel tanks are burning.
Unverified footage posted on social media has shown a huge column of smoke burning in the darkness alongside what looks like storage tanks.
Earlier on Friday, the Russian Defence Ministry (MoD) said it destroyed a Ukrainian drone in the skies over the Bryansk region.
It comes a day after Russian media outlets claimed a Ukrainian drone downed in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of St Petersburg, more than 600 miles from Kyiv, had also caused a fire after hitting an oil facility.
The Russian MoD claimed all drones had been intercepted but a Ukrainian military source said there had been “confirmed hits”.