Series of Explosions Rock Russian-Occupied Luhansk, Partisans Claim Oil Depot Strike

The guerrilla movement Atesh reported a series of explosions in Russian-occupied Luhansk and damage to an oil depot on Friday, June 7, via Telegram.

The site had been occupied by Moscow’s troops who used it as a headquarters and logistics base following Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

“An Atesh agent from Luhansk reports a good strike on the oil depot and a big fire in the area of Hostra Mohyla (a memorial in Luhansk),” the report said.

Videos of explosions in the city are circulating on social networks. Local Telegram channels reported problems with electricity and communications in some areas of Luhansk.

Russian state media, referencing the press secretary of the so-called head of the “Luhansk People’s Republic,” claimed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched at least six ATACMS missiles at Luhansk, most of which were shot down by air defense systems.

According to Russian media, the strikes allegedly damaged civilian infrastructure.

“After the attack, the entrance of a residential building collapsed, and 22 people, including an eight-year-old child, were injured,” reported the Russian propaganda media TASS.

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Ukrainian social media reported that the Russian military facility in Luhansk was hit as a result of the attack.

The Ukrainian authorities have not yet made any official statements regarding the situation.

In late May, the AFU launched a mass long-range missile strike that saturated a Russian military base deep behind the front lines with cluster munitions, initiating a blaze visible and audible dozens of kilometers away, along with hundreds of smaller fires.

The target reportedly included buildings and an adjacent airfield on the former Ukrainian Air Force Navigation Academy grounds in the eastern city of Luhansk. An aircraft repair and maintenance facility used by Russian forces, located a few hundred meters away from the airfield, was also targeted, according to some reports.

Despite Russian laws prohibiting such actions, dozens of videos and photographs posted to social media showed flames reaching high into the night sky near the airfield. Ground images depicted hundreds of square meters of the landing strip engulfed in fires.

Both the Russian state-controlled news agency TASS and independent Ukrainian news platforms confirmed that the airfield area had been hit by dozens of explosions and subsequently consumed by multiple fires. The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that the strikes caused "a massive blaze."

According to open sources, Ukraine fields only two major weapons systems capable of delivering cluster munitions at that range: the US-made ATACMS missile and the Soviet-era Tochka-U missile. Both Russian and Ukrainian social media widely identified the strike weapon as ATACMS, although there has been no official confirmation.

After a four-month halt to U.S. arms deliveries due to Congressional infighting, Ukraine received renewed transfers of ATACMS missiles in late April. Following the end of the US prohibition, Kyiv has energetically launched ATACMS against nine previously out-of-range Russian targets in the occupied Crimea region, including Russian air force bases, aircraft, naval warships, and high-tech anti-missile systems. ATACMS have also been used to hit a Luhansk oil refinery twice.