The refinery has been closed for investigation, he said. No immediate casualties were reported. Sergei Filippov, head of the Rostov-on-Don Ministry of Emergency Situations, said it took more than 50 men and 12 vehicles for almost three hours to put out the blaze. The local news website 161.ru on Wednesday reported a worker at the refinery describing the moment when workers saw a drone from above. “It simply came to our notice then. He made a circle and then we only had time to shout: “Run!” Said the employee who identified with Vladimir. “The evacuation was more or less calm, but everyone is shocked.” Another employee of the refinery reportedly said that there were two explosions about an hour apart, and that only after the second explosion did the evacuation from the factory begin. Russian forces control the other side of the border in Donbas, with Ukraine’s closest positions about 130 kilometers away. Ukraine has carried out a series of suspicious airstrikes against Russian fuel and ammunition depots since the start of the war. In April, two helicopters blew up a fuel depot in Belgorod – near Kharkiv, Ukraine – that was allegedly being used to refuel first-line units. Ukrainian officials have never claimed responsibility for the attacks, with a presidential adviser describing them as a matter of fate.
