Late on March 17th, Ukrainian long-range attack drones targeted a facility of the energy supply system of russia, located in the Astrakhan Region, approximately 900 km deep beyond the frontline. According to the local governor Igor Babushkin, the UAVs were intercepted, but "debris caused fire" on the ground, Defense Express reports.
The fact of the drone attack on Astrakhan was also confirmed by Lieut. Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, a Ukrainian state-run media agency.
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As noticed by Liga.net, russia’s Defense Ministry claimed six Ukrainian drones were downed Sunday evening across Volgograd, Rostov, and Tula oblasts, but "conspicuously omitted" from the reporting the Astrakhan Region and Krasnodar Krai where residents heard multiple explosions.
Unofficial information suggests that the target was Gazprom's Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant, a facility spanning almost 4 sq. km.
While the details are yet being clarified, Defense Express reminds that the Astrakhan plant has previously suffered from Ukrainian drone attacks. On February 3, it was lit on fire after a midnight onslaught of kamikaze drones.
The plant is one of the largest in russia, with an annual processing output of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 3.5 million tons of gas condensate. The end products include gasoline, diesel fuel, and more. The profits generated by this enterprise are used to fuel the russian war machine.
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