The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday confirmed an attack on an oil refinery and fuel storage facility in the main Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which has largely escaped Russian attacks since the invasion began in February. “This morning, high-precision missiles at sea and in the air destroyed an oil refinery and three fuel and lubricant storage facilities near the city of Odessa, from which fuel was supplied to the group of Ukrainian troops in the direction of Mykolaiv,” he told the Telegram. . Odessa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said there were no casualties after the strike. “Today the occupiers hit critical infrastructure in Odessa with rockets,” Trukhanov said in a televised comment. “There is fire, there is smoke. Fortunately, there are no casualties. Only buildings have been damaged. The situation is under control.” Trukhanov said civilian buildings and private homes were damaged in the attack. The mayor also speculated that Russia would at some point use a group of troops stationed in Transnistria – an autonomous democracy in neighboring Moldova – echoing concerns previously voiced by Ukrainian officials. “Of course, at some point sooner or later they will use them,” he said. “It’s difficult to say in which direction, but there is a threat. (The Ukrainian Armed Forces) know this and are working for it.” It is not known whether Russian troops stationed in Transnistria took part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Background: A CNN team saw the aftermath of the strike, which struck Sunday morning, sending thick black clouds of smoke over the city. A fuel depot in the Ukrainian city of Odessa was on fire, according to the CNN team at the scene, with a local telling CNN that they heard six explosions at the fuel depot before sunrise. Speaking about the strike, Serhi Bratsuk, a spokesman for the Odessa regional military administration’s Operations Staff, said: “One of the critical infrastructure objects was hit this morning.” “At the moment the situation is under control, the respective services are working on the spot. The details will be announced later,” Bratsuk added. Odessa City Council confirmed an airstrike on their Telegram account on Sunday morning, saying some Russian missiles had been fired from their air defense system and that fire had broken out in some areas.
