A drone attack carried out by Ukraine on Thursday resulted in a fire breaking out at a military facility in southern Russia, amid Kyiv’s offensive in the Kursk region. Ukrainian forces have been advancing in the region, capturing territory, taking prisoners, and targeting vital infrastructure such as bridges, airfields, and oil depots.
Andrei Bocharov, the governor of the Volgograd region, reported that a “defense ministry facility” was ablaze after being struck by drones in the area of Marinovka. This incident indicates that Ukraine is maintaining its offensive operations, although the specific damage caused was not disclosed.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Ukraine launched an attack using 28 drones overnight. Thirteen drones were downed over the Volgograd region, seven over Rostov, four over Belgorod, two over Voronezh, and one each over Bryansk and Kursk.
Reports from Russian Telegram channels mentioned drone attempts to target a military air base close to Marinovka in the village of Oktyabrsky. Videos circulating on Russian social media captured an explosion in the night sky near the base. Marinovka is located approximately 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of the Ukrainian border and a similar distance west from the border with Kazakhstan.
While Ukraine did not officially acknowledge the attacks, they coincide with Kyiv’s ongoing ground offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, causing concern for the Kremlin. The operation is described as the most significant assault on Russia since World War II, possibly involving up to 10,000 Ukrainian troops supported by armor and artillery.
An incident from the Baza Telegram channel, associated with Russian law enforcement, reported the downing of one drone near the airfield, with debris from another drone causing a fire on a trailer close to the base. Satellite data from NASA tracking forest fires revealed fires erupting around the air base’s apron, where fighter jets were previously stationed.
In a separate incident, a fire continued to burn in Russia’s Rostov region, where firefighters have been battling a blaze ignited by a Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot in Proletarsk since Sunday. Russian state TV channels have largely avoided coverage of the attack, while local Orthodox priests visited the area to pray for injured firefighters.
Further reports from independent Russian Telegram channels mentioned a significant explosion on Wednesday evening, accompanied by videos of a fireball in the night sky. State news agency Tass indicated that 47 people were injured during firefighting efforts, with firefighters managing to contain fires in six fuel tanks.
Satellite images analyzed on Thursday showed the persisting intensity of the fire at the oil depot in Proletarsk, with storage tanks engulfed in flames and thick black smoke billowing over the city. As the conflict continues in the Kursk region, authorities have begun constructing concrete shelters at bus stops and other sites in the city to safeguard against shelling. Similar protective measures will be implemented in Zheleznogorsk and Kurchatov, home to the Kursk nuclear power plant.
