Russia has acknowledged significant damage to energy infrastructure after Ukrainian strikes triggered fires at a key oil depot in occupied eastern Ukraine.
This is after explosions and large fires were reported overnight on February 27 at an oil storage facility in Russian-occupied Luhansk.
Ukrainian forces are believed to have targeted the site using drones in the attacks aimed at weakening Russia’s fuel supply network.
The depot is considered a major logistical hub supplying Russian frontline units operating in eastern Ukraine, including forces deployed in the Kupiansk, Izium, and Kramatorsk directions.
The facility has been attacked multiple times since the war escalated, but it remains a critical node for fuel distribution to invading troops.
According to local reports and Telegram channels monitoring activity in the occupied region, the Friday strike sparked a large blaze late in the evening.
The attack comes as Russian authorities also reported missile strikes across Belgorod Oblast, a border region frequently targeted in cross-border attacks.
Parts of Belgorod city were reportedly left without electricity following the strikes. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the strikes caused serious damage to regional infrastructure.
“Serious damage has been caused to energy infrastructure facilities. As a result, there have been power outages, water supply disruptions, and heating failures,” Gladkov said.
The region lies just 34 kilometers from Ukraine’s northeastern border and has faced repeated attacks in recent weeks.
Russian officials claimed that missiles were used in the Belgorod strikes, while local monitoring channels suggested Western-supplied systems such as HIMARS may have been involved.
Oil infrastructure targeted
Energy facilities have become a primary target of Ukrainian long-range strikes as Kyiv attempts to erode Russia’s ability to sustain prolonged military operations.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian drone units struck an oil depot in Velikiye Luki in Russia’s northwestern Pskov region, causing another major fire.
Ukraine has also targeted the Kaleykino oil pumping station in Russia’s Tatarstan region, a major hub connected to the Druzhba pipeline system that supplies crude oil to refineries and customers in Central Europe.
Also Read: Russia Unleashes Overnight Missile and Drone Strikes on Ukraine as Fires Break Out
The Luhansk depot has particular military significance because it supports multiple Russian formations operating across eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials previously identified the site as a key supply center for the 41st and 20th Combined Arms Armies. One earlier strike on the same facility in 2025 was reported to have disrupted fuel deliveries to Russian combat units for weeks.
Russia continues heavy strikes on Ukraine
Despite the attacks on Russian territory, Moscow has continued large-scale aerial bombardments across Ukraine.
Russian forces launched 39 missiles and approximately 420 drones overnight earlier this week, Ukrainian officials said, wounding at least 25 people across multiple regions.
The northeastern city of Kharkiv and surrounding areas were among the hardest hit, with emergency services reporting at least 16 injuries.
In southeastern Zaporizhzhia, attacks damaged apartment buildings and homes while leaving at least seven people wounded.
Additional strikes injured two people in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, with the army activating air defenses in the capital Kyiv after explosions were reported across several districts.
City authorities said a nine-storey residential building was damaged in the Darnytskyi district while fires broke out in homes and garages elsewhere in the city. Officials said no casualties were recorded in Kyiv.
Diplomatic Efforts Continue
The escalation in military activity comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said the next round of United States-mediated negotiations with Russia could take place in Abu Dhabi in early March following meetings between American and Ukrainian officials in Geneva.
Also Read: Ukraine Reveals US Warning After Attack on Putin’s Black Sea Oil Terminal
Senior officials from both countries met to discuss postwar reconstruction plans and possible pathways toward ending the conflict, now entering its fifth year.
Zelenskyy said there was growing readiness for a new trilateral format involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.
He reiterated his call for a direct meeting with Vladimir Putin, saying talks at the leadership level could help resolve key issues.
“This format can solve a lot,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.
Russian officials, however, signaled caution about the prospects for a quick agreement. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was too early to discuss any deadlines for a potential deal.
“We have no deadlines; we have tasks. We are getting them done,” Lavrov said in comments carried by Russian state media.
In another development, Russia said it transferred the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for those of 35 Russian troops in one of the largest such exchanges since the war began.
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