Nine Russian regions hit by Ukrainian drone strikes

UKRAINE has inflicted one of its heaviest overnight bombardments on Russia with at least nine regions hit in drone strikes and two key oil depots left ablaze.

- Mark Reynolds

Footage showed a Lukoil refinery engulfed in flames yesterday after oil tanks exploded at the facility in Kstovo, 275 miles east of Moscow.

Gleb Nikitin, governor for the Nizhny Novgorod region, said: "In the morning the Kstovo industrial zone, a fuel and energy complex facility, was attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles."

It is one of the largest oil refineries in Russia and its operations were suspended after the strike.

Another oil plant was struck in the Oryol region, causing another inferno after a kamikaze-style drone exploded at the plant at around 3am.

Regional governor Andrei Klychkov admitted: "The fuel and energy complex facility was attacked. The special services are working on the spot to localise the fire. There are no casualties."