Drone attack causes fire at Russian oil refinery

MOSCOW: Just hours after the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, an oil refinery in Krasnodar region was attacked by a drone, prompting a fire at the facility, state media reported on Thursday.

The incident occurred at the Ilsky Oil Refinery in the Seversky district, causing no casualties, Xinhua news agency quoted Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev as saying.

"Firefighters and emergency workers are already on site," Kondratyev posted on social media, adding there was no threat to nearby residents.

This is the second drone attack on an oil facility in Krasnodar this week.

On Wednesday night, another drone attack took place at an oil reservoir in Volna village in Temryuk district, causing a fire that covered an area of 1,200 square metres.

On Wednesday evening, the Kremlin press service said that Ukrainian drones had "attempted to strike" at the residence of Putin.

The Kremlin called the so-called attack a "planned terrorist action" and an "assassination attempt on the Russian President".

But Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied that his country carried out the alleged attack, saying that "we are not attacking either Putin or Moscow; we are fighting on our own territory, defending our villages and towns".