Ukraine hits Russian oil depot, Belgorod faces blackouts

Ukraine reportedly struck an oil depot in Russia’s Pskov Oblast and launched missiles toward Belgorod overnight on Feb. 18–19, with local officials reporting power outages in parts of the border city.

Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the city experienced what he described as another “massive missile attack” on energy infrastructure, causing significant damage and partial losses of electricity and heating, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Belgorod lies roughly 34 kilometers (21 miles) from Ukraine’s northeastern border and has repeatedly come under fire during the full-scale war.

Separately, explosions and a large fire were reported at an oil depot in the town of Velikiye Luki in Russia’s northwestern Pskov Oblast.

A source in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent that the strike was carried out by the agency’s Alpha drone unit, which allegedly penetrated anti-drone protections at the facility.

“Such operations are an element of systematic weakening of the military potential of the Russian Federation,” the SBU source said.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted military and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia, arguing such facilities directly support Moscow’s war effort.

Belgorod has faced repeated disruptions in recent weeks. Officials reported fires following a drone attack in nearby Stary Oskol on Feb. 2. Additional blackouts and heating outages were recorded on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7 after reported strikes damaged energy facilities.

Earlier in the week, drone attacks were also reported in multiple Russian regions, including a major fire at the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada