A RUSSIAN oil refinery erupted in flames following a suspected Ukrainian drone attack.
It comes after embattled Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of attempting to “frighten and provoke” Russia after a wave of kamikaze flying bombs targeted Moscow on Tuesday.
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The fresh drone strike at 3am on Wednesday sparked a huge blaze at Afipsky oil refinery in Krasnodar region as huge plumes of smoke filled the air.
Shocking CCTV footage showed the moment of impact.
The refinery, 14 miles southwest of regional capital Krasnodar, supplies the strategic Novorossiysk port on the Black Sea.
Krasnodar governor Veniamin Kondratyev admitted the drone strike and said there were no casualties.
Meanwhile, there were renewed overnight attacks on Shebekino town, close to the border with Ukraine in Russia’s Belgorod region.
An exhausted-looking Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in an early morning video: “This is not a good morning at all.
“At 3:15am there was a mass missile attack on Shebekino [town].
“There is a lot of damage in blocks of flats, private houses, [and] many private cars burned.”
Gladkov said four people were wounded and that children would be evacuated from Shebekinsky and Graivoronsky districts.
He added: “Today the first 300 children will be sent to Voronezh.
Windows were smashed and facades and roofs damaged in eight apartment blocks, four houses, two administrative buildings and a school.
The latest attack came after Ukraine was warned it faced nuclear attack after drones blitzed Moscow on Tuesday – sparking blasts “within earshot” of Vladimir Putin’s home.
Kamikaze-flying bombs struck the posh suburbs of the Russian capital where the tyrant and his cronies have luxury retreats.
The unmanned air strikes came hours after a Ukrainian commander vowed to avenge the latest of a string of Russian air raids on Kyiv.
But Ukraine denied any involvement amid fears that the attacks were another “false flag” ruse ordered by Putin himself to enable him to escalate the conflict.
The Kremlin went on to directly accuse Ukraine of targeting Russia – a claim which backs Putin’s lie that Ukraine and the West bent on destroying his motherland.
Putin said Ukraine was attempting “to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings”.
He said: “We have spoken about hitting command centres (in Ukraine).
“In response, the Kyiv regime has chosen a different path, the path of trying to frighten Russia, frighten the citizens of Russia and of strikes on residential buildings.
“Moscow’s air defense system worked normally, satisfactorily, although there is some work to do.”
And within hours hardline pro-Putin MPs were baying for a nuclear response.
MP Oleg Nilov said: “Moscow was subject to a drone attack by the Ukrainian terrorist state
“Our response can be made from all available options of the Russian Armed Forces – tactical nuclear weapons won’t stay shelved for too long.”
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Katie Davis
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