A Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot inside Russia causes a massive blaze, officials say

A Ukrainian drone struck an oil storage depot in western Russia on Friday, causing a massive blaze, officials said, as Kyiv’s forces apparently extended their attacks on Russian soil ahead of the war’s two-year anniversary.

Four oil reservoirs with a total capacity of 6,000 cubic meters (1.6 million gallons) were set on fire after the drone reached Klintsy, a city of some 70,000 people located about 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the Ukrainian border, according to the local governor and state news agency Tass.

The strike apparently was the latest in a recently intensified effort by Ukraine to unnerve Russians and undermine President Vladimir Putin’s claims that life in Russia is going on as normal before its March 17 presidential election.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to hit more targets inside Russian border regions this year. Russia’s air defenses are concentrated in occupied regions of Ukraine, Kyiv officials say, leaving more distant targets inside Russia more vulnerable as Ukrainian forces develop longer-range drones.