Russia burns as 'massive attack' with HIMARS and drones sparks huge blaze at key target

Smoke billows into the sky in Bryansk (Image: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)

Russia’s Bryansk region was rocked late on Tuesday by what officials described as a “massive attack” involving US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and long-range drones. The attack struck critical fuel infrastructure and sparked a major fire. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said the Unechsky district, near the border with Ukraine, was the target of a combined assault by the “Kyiv regime,” claiming it was repelled by Russian forces.

According to Bogomaz, the attack was carried out using both HIMARS rockets and “jet unmanned aerial vehicles” in what he called a coordinated strike on a fuel facility. The attack apparently targeted the Unecha oil pumping station, a key node in Russia’s Druzhba pipeline network, which spans around 9,000 kilometres and is one of the primary arteries for transporting oil within Russia and to Europe.

Ukrainian intelligence sources told the Kyiv Independent that the strike was part of an escalating campaign aimed at crippling the Russian oil industry, a vital source of revenue funding Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Images and local reports indicated a large fire broke out at the site, with explosions reported near oil storage tanks. Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations dispatched teams to the scene, and the blaze was eventually brought under control.

One firefighter was injured while tackling the fire and was taken to hospital for treatment. Authorities said his condition was stable.

Bogomaz said: "On the evening of August 12, the Bryansk region was once again subjected to a massive attack by the Kyiv regime.

"As a result of repelling a massive combined attack carried out by MLRS and jet unmanned aerial vehicles, a fire broke out at a fuel infrastructure facility in the Unechsky district.”

As a result of what he called "the heroic and coordinated actions of the personnel of the Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia", the fire has been "completely extinguished”, Bogomaz added.

He continued: "Unfortunately, one of the firefighters was injured during the extinguishing of the fire.

"He was quickly taken to the hospital, where he is receiving all the necessary medical care.”

The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that its air defence forces intercepted and destroyed 46 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones in a sweeping overnight operation across multiple regions. Of those, 15 were reportedly downed over Bryansk Oblast. Other regions targeted included Volgograd, Rostov, Krasnodar, Belgorod, Voronezh, Russian-occupied Crimea, and the Sea of Azov.

Despite Russian claims of successful interceptions, the scale and spread of the attacks suggested significant penetration of Russian air defences. In Krasnodar Krai, debris from a downed drone reportedly ignited a truck at a refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban. In Volgograd, residents reported a suspected strike near the massive Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka refinery, with drone wreckage landing on the roof of a 16-story apartment building, prompting an evacuation.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russia’s oil infrastructure in recent months, using domestically produced long-range drones and, in some cases, Western-supplied precision systems such as HIMARS.

The strategy is aimed at hitting Moscow’s logistical and economic backbone while limiting fuel supplies to its military.

Unecha’s strategic importance lies in its role as a pumping hub for two major oil pipelines, with a combined annual capacity of around 60 million metric tons. Disruption here could ripple through both domestic and export energy flows, creating further strain on Russia’s already pressured economy.

While the Kremlin has sought to frame such strikes as acts of “terrorism,” Kyiv views them as legitimate military operations against critical war-sustaining assets.

The Unecha attack is one of the most high-profile incidents involving both HIMARS rockets and drones in a single coordinated strike deep inside Russian territory.

The incident underscores Ukraine’s growing ability to project force beyond the immediate front lines, striking at the heart of Russia’s energy and logistics network—a development that will likely fuel further escalation in the ongoing war.