Strike on fuel infrastructure: Ukrainian drones hit a strategic oil depot in Penza
23 January 09:56
On the night of January 23, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in Penza (Russia). As a result, a fire broke out on the premises, but there were no casualties or injuries, according to Oleg Melnichenko, governor of the Penza region, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Russian propaganda media.
“Firefighters are working at the scene, including 46 employees and 14 pieces of equipment,” he said.
The head of the region also warned local residents about the responsibility for distributing photos and videos of the drones’ arrival.
According to the Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova, the oil depot of JSC Penzanaftoprodukt was hit. It is located on the eastern outskirts of Penza. The enterprise is one of the largest in the petroleum products market in the Penza region and the Republic of Mordovia. It has been operating since 1988 and is owned by Rosneft.
Fuel is supplied from the oil depot to local gas stations. The distance from the Ukrainian border to Penza is more than 1,000 km.
The region was first attacked at the end of July 2025. At that time, the governor reported an attack on an enterprise in the Zavodsky district of Penza, which also resulted in a fire. Ukraine stated that the target of the attack was the Radio Plant, which works for Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Also, on the night of January 23, Ukrainian drones attacked the Belgorod region, where a man was injured when a drone hit a car near the village of Arkhangelskoye in the Shebekinsky district. He was hospitalized with mine-blast trauma and multiple shrapnel wounds to his face, neck, torso, and limbs, according to the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. In the Voronezh region, the roof of a private house caught fire due to debris from a downed drone. There were no casualties, but the family living in the house had to move in with relatives, said Governor Alexander Gusev.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 12 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones were “intercepted and destroyed” by air defense forces over Russian territory last night. This included seven over the Belgorod region, two over the Voronezh region, and one each over the Bryansk, Penza, and Astrakhan regions.
