ATACMS Missile Blasts Oil Depot in Occupied Luhansk

Several explosions were reported at an oil depot in the city of Rovenky, in the occupied Luhansk region, late in the evening yesterday, May 10.

Preliminary reports and videos being shared on social media channels from Rovenky, which Russia occupied in 2014, indicate that at least one M39 ATACMS tactical ballistic missile with cluster munitions was used to strike the facility.

Moscow-installed head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic confirmed that one person was killed and six others wounded. 

Rovenky is 115 kilometers east of the front lines and 60 kilometers south of Luhansk.

If Ukraine is confirmed responsible for the attack, then it would represent the latest in a series of strikes on Russian oil refineries and depots.

On Tuesday, May 7, Luhansk city was hit by a missile strike causing a fire at an oil depot within the city limits.

The Archangel Spetsnaz Z Telegram channel, which supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine, claimed that Luhansk was hit by an ATACMS missile.

In Russia’s Kaluga region, early in the morning of May 10, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeted the Pervy Zavod plant, engaged in oil refining, resulting in a fire, as reported by the region’s governor, Vladyslav Shapsha.

Pervy Zavod is the largest oil refinery in the Kaluga region, located 300 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian border and 140 kilometers from Moscow. It’s the primary complex for processing commodity oil and gas condensate, with a nominal oil refining capacity of 1.2 million tons annually.

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On May 9 Kyiv Post reported that its sources within the special services revealed that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had carried out a successful strike on the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The attack was carried out by a long-range drone that targeted the refinery’s catalytic oil cracking unit.

The Ukrainian drone’s range covered an unprecedented distance of 1,500 kilometers.

Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical production complexes, specializing in the production of gasoline, diesel fuel, and various petroleum products.

In March US officials in the Biden administration had reportedly urged Ukraine not to strike any oil facilities on Russian territory for fear of causing inflationary pressure on petroleum products in the run-up to the presidential elections.

Despite reports, however, Ukraine has denied being pressured and rejected the idea of refraining from targeting Russian fuel facilities. In fact, some Western analysts strongly encourage Ukraine’s strategy.