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Drones that attacked Russian oil refinery could be produced in Ukraine — local authorities

Specialists believe that one of the drones touched a lightning protection mast and fell onto the refinery’s premises, the press office of the regional governor informed

ROSTOV-ON-DON, June 22. /TASS/. The drones that attacked the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov Region in Russia’s south were produced in Ukraine as preliminary information suggests, the press office of the regional governor reported on Wednesday.

"Under one version, the fire erupted as a result of an attack by unmanned aerial vehicles that were of Ukrainian manufacture, according to preliminary information. Specialists believe that one of the drones touched a lightning protection mast and fell onto the refinery’s premises. The other drone was likely the cause of a fire that broke out in a heat exchanger," the press office quoted Governor Vasily Golubev as saying.

The fire at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Krasnosulinsky district of the Rostov Region was reported at 09:25 Moscow time. The blaze was put out at 10:50 Moscow time.

According to information of a TASS source in the local authorities, the fire started after a Ukrainian drone crashed into the refinery’s structures. A source in law-enforcement agencies also said that two Ukrainian drones had flown over the refinery.

The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery is the sole refining plant in the Rostov Region. The plant is located near Novoshakhtinsk on an area of 300 hectares, 100 km away from Rostov-on-Don. The oil refinery produces and sells gasoline, fuel oil, marine, diesel and heating fuel.

According to the data of regional media outlets, Peton Invest Technology affiliated with Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur Viktor Medvedchuk, became the plant’s basic owner in 2021. Both the refinery and Marchenko were slapped with Kiev’s sanctions for alleged fuel deliveries to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Medvedchuk is currently in custody in Ukraine on charges of high treason and some other crimes.

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