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Russian missiles hit refineries close to the important thing Ukrainian port of Odesa and in Kremenchuk, within the central Poltava area.
Russian assaults have destroyed an oil refinery within the central Poltava area and struck “important infrastructure”, almost certainly oil services, close to the key port metropolis of Odesa, native officers mentioned.
Kremenchuk, 250km (150 miles) southeast of Kyiv alongside the Dnipro River, had Ukraine’s solely totally functioning oil refinery.
Dmytro Lunin, governor of the Poltava area, mentioned on tv that the refinery had been destroyed in a rocket assault on Saturday.
“The hearth on the refinery has been extinguished however the facility has been utterly destroyed and may now not operate,” he mentioned.
The refinery’s destruction couldn’t be independently verified. The plant processed 3.2 million tonnes of oil final yr and its loss may show a blow to Ukraine’s defence effort.
A number of rockets additionally hit Mykolaiv, an inside ministry aide mentioned.
Earlier, Russia’s defence ministry mentioned its missiles had destroyed an oil refinery and three gasoline storage services close to Odesa. It mentioned they’d been utilized by Ukraine to provide its troops close to Mykolaiv.
Vladyslav Nazarov, an officer of Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, mentioned on Telegram that there had been a missile assault on “important infrastructure”. Two columns of thick, black smoke might be seen rising into a gray sky earlier than spreading out over the town.
“All related techniques and buildings are working … No casualties reported,” Nazarov added.
Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov mentioned on tv the scenario was “underneath management”, including: “Properties, civilian infrastructure, roofs have suffered injury.”
Odesa is the primary base for Ukraine’s navy, alongside different Ukrainian Black Sea ports akin to Mariupol and Mykolaiv. If taken, it might give Russia a land hall from Crimea to Transnistria, a Russian-speaking breakaway province of Moldova that hosts Russian troops.
Vika, an Odesa resident who declined to present her surname, informed Reuters information company her household had woken as much as highly effective explosions close to their residence.
“There was smoke, the kids had been in a panic, the home windows had been blown in … it was terrifying,” she mentioned.
Russia denies attacking civilians.
The strikes got here with Greece’s overseas minister Nikos Dendias anticipated within the metropolis to ship humanitarian support to the municipal authorities.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin calls a “particular army operation” to demilitarise and “denazify” its neighbour.
Ukraine and the Western international locations supporting it reject that as a baseless pretext for a warfare of aggression.
Ukraine estimates 20,000 folks have been killed and greater than 10 million have been displaced because the invasion started.
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