More than 100 UAVs massively attacked Russian oil refineries and bases

(Dan Tri) – Russia said Ukraine conducted a large-scale attack using drones on Russian areas.

Ukrainian soldiers launch UAVs near Bakhmut (Photo: Reuters).

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on May 19 that its forces had shot down at least 103 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including 62 over Russian areas, as well as the Continental Tactical Missile System.

Local officials said six drones fell on the territory of an oil refinery in Slavyansk in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region.

Interfax news agency said the refinery had temporarily suspended operations after the attack.

TASS news agency quoted an official at the refinery as saying that the Ukrainian drone attack was larger in scale than previous attacks.

The Slavyansk refinery is a private plant with a capacity of 4 million tons of oil per year, about 1 million barrels per day.

A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters that Ukraine’s SBU security forces and military drones hit the Slavyansk oil refinery and a military airport in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region in attacks.

The Ukrainian Navy also announced the destruction of the Project 266-M Kovrovets minesweeper of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Russia said its military forces defeated Ukraine’s 24th and 42nd mechanized brigades and the 125th Air Defense Brigade in Lukiantsi, Vesele and Radhospne in the Kharkiv region and repelled attacks by Ukrainian forces.

Moscow has noted an increase in Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory since Russian forces opened a new front in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine earlier this month.

President Vladimir Putin said Russia is establishing a buffer zone to protect Russia from such attacks.

President Putin said Russia currently has no plans to control Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city.

The White House on May 17 said the US still maintains its stance on discouraging Ukraine from using Washington’s weapons to attack Russian territory.

`We neither encourage nor permit attacks with US-supplied weapons systems inside Russia. That is the policy. That remains unchanged,` John Kirby, security spokesman

Previously, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kiev that Washington does not encourage Ukraine to attack targets inside Russian territory with weapons provided by the US, but he believes that is a decision Kiev made itself.

Moscow accused NATO and EU countries of encouraging Ukraine to attack targets within Russia using long-range missiles supplied by the West, such as ATACMS and Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that `Russia will not let such violations of its territory go unanswered.`