Video footage captured the dramatic moment a Ukrainian drone crashed into a Russian oil depot, causing a huge explosion and raging inferno to break out.
Ukraine has consistently targeted Russian oil depots as it tries to disrupt fuel supplies to Vladimir Putin’s army on the frontlines, as well as destroy energy infrastructure.
Kyiv has successfully increased the range of its UAVs, which have been able to strike facilities deep inside Russia’s interior.
The Kremlin has been unable to stop the attacks, despite its formidable array of air defence systems and electronic jamming capabilities.
In the latest attack, Ukrainian kamikaze drones zeroed in on an oil depot in Svetlograd, Stavropol region.
The facility is located some 500 miles from the closest Ukrainian-controlled territory.
CCTV images record a sudden explosion followed by a giant ball of flames, as the facility is set on fire.
The footage was posted to social media by the Baza Telegram channel, which is reported to have close links to Russia’s intelligence services.
Vladimir Vladimirov, the regional governor, said emergency services were at the scene dealing with the aftermath of the strike.
He reported there were no casualties from the major explosion.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence also claimed that 83 drones were shot down overnight.
They were allegedly destroyed in Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Oryol and Belgorod regions, as well as over the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Putin’s generals have been forced to resort to ever more desperate measures to protect their oil depots from being wiped out by Ukrainian drones.
The latest idea is to cloak the energy facilities in anti-drone nettings, in the hope these will provide more protection than normal air defence systems.
Photos of the Kapotnya oil refinery near Moscow show the nettings draped over the plant, which was hit earlier this year.
The refinery is one of the 10 largest in Russia and provides about 40 percent of the needs of Moscow and its surrounding region.
