Drones over Russian cities in the last few hours, while in St. Petersburg the airspace was closed for an hour due to an unidentified object.
In the Krasnodar region, a refinery of the Russian giant Rosneft has caught fire, and the Russian authorities have announced that they have shot down two Ukrainian drones.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the internal security services (FSB) to monitor the border with Ukraine to thwart the actions of groups of saboteurs.
This was reported by the Tass agency.
Putin has called for continuing to neutralize the activities of those trying to divide Russia.
The services, he added, must be vigilant to thwart the attempts of the "scum" who seek to cause internal divisions using the weapons of "separatism, nationalism, neo-Nazism and xenophobia".
Drone crashes 100 kilometers from Moscow
A drone "crashed" near Kolomna, a hundred kilometers southeast of Moscow.
This was stated by the governor of the capital region, Andrei Vorobyov, quoted by the RIA Novosti agency.
According to the governor, the drone was "probably" intended to carry out an attack on civilian infrastructure.
Vorobyov adds that there are no victims or material damage.
The drone crashed near the village of Gubastovo, in the Kolomna area.
The internal security services (FSB) are investigating the incident.
"Nothing threatens the safety of residents," the governor said.
In Russia, explosions in the night set fire to a Rosneft refinery
Explosions were heard last night in the Russian city of Tuapse, in the Krasnodar region, followed by a fire in a local refinery of the Russian government-controlled oil giant, Rosneft: reports Ukrainska Pravda, which cites some Telegram channels in the country.
"There was an explosion at the Tuapse oil refinery, then a second one, the windows of nearby houses were blown out, it is not clear what is burning but it appears to be oil drums," read one of the messages.
Local authorities confirmed on social network VK that there was an explosion at the refinery, adding that there is "no cause for concern".
According to the RIA Novosti news agency, a drone was reportedly spotted over the area before the fire.
The Russian Defense Ministry said
two Ukrainian drones were neutralized last night
by electronic defense systems as they were aimed at civilian infrastructure in the Krasnodar region on the Black Sea, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
Ukrainska Pravda earlier reported that explosions had been heard in the region, followed by a fire at a refinery.
Russia, explosions in the night: the Rosneft refinery on fire
Unidentified object in St. Petersburg. Moscow: a drill
Russian forces
in the Western Air District, of which
St. Petersburg
is a part
, carried out an exercise today, flying
fighters to identify and intercept a fictitious target
.
This was announced by the Ministry of Defence
, quoted by Russian agencies.
This should be the reason for the closure of the airspace, then reopened, over St. Petersburg, even if the ministry does not clarify it.
The Russian state agency RIA Novosti, citing the city's emergency services, had written that the airspace over
St. Petersburg
had been closed due to an unidentified flying object.
In the morning, the announcement was made that the airspace over St. Petersburg would be closed for a radius of 200 kilometres.
The city authorities had announced, in a statement on Telegram, a temporary halt of flights arriving and departing from Pulkovo airport.
"We inform you of the introduction of a temporary airspace restriction until 10:20 UTC (+3 hours Moscow time) in the area surrounding [Pulkovo airport] within a radius of 200 km, at all altitudes "We ask you to use alternative flight routes and ensure you have sufficient fuel reserves. The reasons for flight cancellations will be communicated later," the announcement read.
The Kremlin had announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "fully informed" about what happened in St. Petersburg.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov as regards the causes of the incident, invited to wait for the explanations that will be given by the civil aviation authority and the armed forces.
ANSA Agency
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