Ukraine Strikes Distant Russian Region for First Time

Using drones, Ukraine this week hit a Russian region hundreds of miles from the border for the first time.

The drone strike targeted the Zenit oil depot in Russia’s Kirov region on Wednesday, reported The Kyiv Independent, an online Ukrainian newspaper. Russia shot down two of the drones, while three others fell and started a fire in a nearby town.

There were no injuries reported, but the strike caused fires at two oil depots, according to the report.

The strike marks the first time Ukraine has attacked the Kirov region, which is more than 700 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border, since the war began more than two years ago, the newspaper said.

Kirov Governor Alexander Sokolov said there was no damage or disruption to operations after the strike, reported The Moscow Times, an online newspaper.

Ukraine also struck an oil depot in Russia’s Rostov region on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev said there were “no casualties” in that attack and that firefighters were working to extinguish the fire.

Meanwhile, the Kavkaz oil depot, which is also in the Rostov region, has been burning for 10 days, according to the Times. Recent satellite images have shown the fire is continuing to spread.

Newsweek reached out via email to Russia’s and Ukraine’s foreign ministries for comment.

The drone attacks follow Ukraine’s surprise incursion into the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine’s Sumy region, on August 6. Since then, Ukrainian forces have seized control of 482 square miles of Russian territory and 92 settlements, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on August 19.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which caught Russia by surprise, has forced the latter to divert manpower and resources away from the front lines in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces to push back Ukrainian troops from Kursk by October 1, according to the news agency RBC-Ukraine.

The Kursk offensive comes more than two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin first announced his “special military operation” into Ukraine, which was immediately condemned by the U.S. and its allies for lacking any justification.

Russia initially aimed for a quick victory over Ukraine, which was viewed as having a weaker military. However, its stronger than expected response, bolstered by Western military support, has blocked Russia from achieving a victory in the war.

Ukraine is said to have seized more territory in the Kursk region than Russia has captured in Ukraine since the beginning of the year. The incursion also marks the first time foreign troops have seized Russian territory since World War II. Zelensky has said that Ukraine controls at least 80 settlements in Kursk.