Recent drone and missile strikes in Russia have targeted facilities in Saratov, including warehouses belonging to the Russian marketplace Ozon and the Saratov oil refinery. Preliminary reports indicate no injuries resulting from these attacks.
Monitoring group Exilenova+ reported that the industrial area surrounding the oil refinery was engulfed in smoke following the explosions. Eyewitness accounts captured dramatic scenes of destruction, with one individual questioning, “Are these Ukrainian drones?” while another exclaimed, “They are intentionally bombing the warehouse! The facility is on fire!”
Visuals from the scene depicted a significant fire at the affected site. The Russian publication Astra confirmed the attacks on both the oil refinery and Ozon’s warehouses.
Moreover, explosions and anti-aircraft activity were also reported in other regions, including Samara and Volgograd, with preliminary indications suggesting a missile strike occurred in Volgograd. Reports also emerged of similar incidents in Kaspiysk, Dagestan.
Background
- On August 22, Ukrainian drones launched their first attack on Ozon’s logistics complex in Chapayevsk, Samara region. The following day, strikes targeted the marketplace’s facilities in Orenburg, and on August 24, drone attacks hit Ozon warehouses in Dagestan, Adygea, and the Krasnodar and Stavropol regions.
- On the same day, President Putin signed a decree allowing temporary state control over the property of companies deemed inadequately protected from air attacks, affecting transport and logistics infrastructure.
- Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Ukraine’s strikes on Ozon’s logistics hubs allegedly do not affect the frontline situation.
