Ukraine says hit Russian oil refinery south of Moscow

KIEV

Ukraine on Wednesday hit a Russian oil refinery in Ryazan, south of Moscow, in a new drone attack on Russia's energy infrastructure, authorities said.

Ukraine has launched drones into Russia regularly since last year as the war between the two drags on, increasingly targeting sites such as factories and oil refineries deep inside Russia.

"As a result of an operation by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine on the night of May 1, a UAV (drone) was used to hit the Ryazan oil refinery in Russia," Ukraine's special services said in a statement to AFP.

It said the attack took place around 2:00 am (2300 GMT).

Ryazan regional governor, Pavel Malkov, confirmed an attack but gave no details. "The Ryazan region was targeted by a drone attack. According to preliminary information there are no casualties," he said in a Telegram post.

Ryazan is around 190 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Moscow.

Social media videos showed an explosion in the dark and smoke rising into the air.

The refinery is owned by Russia's oil giant Rosneft. According to its website, it has a capacity of 17.1 million tons of oil per year.