Explosions rock Volgograd amid new blaze at Russian oil refinery
Photo: Fire breaks out again at oil refinery in Volgograd (Getty Images)
On the night of August 19, unidentified drones attacked Russia’s Volgograd region. Residents reported explosions, followed by a fire at a nearby oil refinery.
According to Russian channels and the official channel of the Volgograd regional administration, emergency services were dispatched to the site.
Russian social media channels, citing local residents, reported that after 1 a.m. in Volgograd up to ten explosions were heard. Eyewitnesses said flashes were visible on the outskirts of the city. Soon after, reports emerged of an attack on the local oil refinery, followed by photos showing a large fire at the site.
The attack was later confirmed by officials. Volgograd region governor Andrei Bocharov said the area was under attack by unidentified drones and acknowledged that a fire had broken out at the local oil refinery.
"Firefighters are working on site to contain and extinguish the blaze. According to preliminary data, there are no casualties," the governor’s administration said in a statement.
Local reports also claimed that the roof of Volgograd’s Hospital No. 16 caught fire during the drone strike. Patients are being treated in departments of the hospital unaffected by debris.
This comes just days after drones targeted another refinery in the Volgograd region, sparking a blaze. On August 13, unidentified drones also struck the Slovyansk ECO refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban, Krasnodar region.
