Ukraine drones have struck two oil refineries belonging to state-owned oil giant Rosneft in the Samara region, the governor claimed on Saturday as millions of Russians cast their votes in a sham three-day presidential election that Vladimir Putin is expected to win.
The Syzran refinery was on fire but an attack on the Novokubyshev refinery was thwarted, the governor of Russia’s Samara region, Dmitry Azarov said. Workers at both plants were evacuated with no casualties reported, he added.
Earlier this week, attacks targeted oil refineries in the Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Leningrad regions.
The latest strike comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Russia will receive a “fair response” from his forces for a “vile” assault on Odesa, which killed at least 20 people and wounded at least 70.
Ukrainian officials said it was Moscow’s deadliest attack in weeks when a Russian missile attack hit civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, in Russia, at least half a dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations were reported, including a firebombing, as citizens voted in a three-day presidential election that will extend Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years after he stifled dissent.
The election takes place against the backdrop of a crackdown that has crippled independent media and prominent rights groups and given Putin full control of the political system.