Russia says it hits oil refinery, fuel depots near Ukraine's Odessa

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - The Russian armed forces hit an oil refinery and fuel depots near the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"This morning, an oil refinery and three fuel and lubricants depots providing fuel to the Ukrainian army in the Nikolaev direction were destroyed near Odessa with high-precision sea and air-launched missiles," Igor Konashenkov, a Defense Ministry spokesman, told journalists.

Since the beginning of the "special military operation" in Ukraine, Konashenkov claimed, Russia’s aerospace forces have destroyed 125 warplanes, 88 helicopters, 383 drones of Ukrainian forces, 221 surface-to-air missile systems, 1,903 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 207 multiple-launch rocket systems, 805 field artillery armaments and mortars, as well as 1,781 units of special military automotive equipment.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the EU, US, and Britain, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,325 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,017 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.1 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.