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Ukraine Strikes Saratov Refinery in Russia; Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant Loses Offsite Power

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Ukraine targeted Rosneft's Saratov refinery in Russia over the weekend, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Sunday, as part of intensified attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

The refinery sustained a fire following the latest attack, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said separately in a Telegram statement.

Satellite images by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as cited by Bloomberg, also showed heat anomalies on Sunday, potentially indicating active fires.

The facility, which processes 7 million tons per year of oil, was last hit on July 8.

Rosneft did not immediately respond to' request for comment.

Zelenskyy and the armed forces also said that drone strikes targeted Lyudinovskaya oil depot in Kaluga region, which stores fuel and lubricants for Russia's military.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency on Saturday said the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine lost offsite power for the 23rd time since the military conflict began.

"The cause of the latest off-site power loss - lasting for nearly two hours - is not yet known," it said in a post on X.

Alexey Likhachev, chief executive of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, reportedly said that a Ukrainian drone hit a passageway connecting all six power units at the plant and located several meters from the reactor building of the third unit.

There was no reported explosion following the attack. Ukraine has not confirmed the incident.

has separately reached out to Ukraine's defense ministry and armed forces for comments.

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