A new wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia has damaged and set alight several more oil depots and energy facilities, one location notably which lies very deep into Russian territory.
On Wednesday drones struck the far away town of Kotelnich in Russia's Kirov Oblast. Regional Governor Alexander Sokolov said that two inbound drones were intercepted by air defenses, while a third "fell" and a blaze subsequently erupted near the Zenit oil facility.
This clearly is one of the deepest drone strikes into Russia of the entire war, given Kotelnich lies some 1,500 km (930 miles) northeast of the border with Ukraine. It is likely a record distance.
The governor has since said the situation is "under control" and that there were no casualties as a result of the attack.
Russia's defense ministry in a statement noted other overnight drone attacks as well, including shoot-downs of eight drones over the Voronezh Oblast and four over Rostov Oblast.
However, a depot in Rostov’s Kamensky district was apparently struck and caught fire, resulting in emergency crews seeking to extinguish it.
At least three tanks are burning at the oil depot, the Baza Telegram channel - seen as close to Russian security services - indicated. Videos showed large blazes overnight.
Already, a large fire has been raging in the city of Proletarsk in Rostov region going all the way back to August 18, which lies some 200km from the Ukrainian border.
Earlier in the war, a number of drones on a few occasions had reached near the capital of Moscow which lies some 500km from the closest Ukrainian border point. Since then these drones have been reaching deeper and deeper, and often because of their small size and low flight can evade Russian radar and anti-air systems. They are now hitting targets over 1,000km away, and this is likely with the help of NATO advisers and technology.
It has been a strategy of Ukraine's to systematically target Russian oil facilities, seeking to disrupt the industry and put a dent in crucial funding of Moscow's war machine. But this has only resulted in stepped-up retaliatory efforts to degrade Ukraine's national energy grid.