- Ukraine's General Staff claims hitting Orenburg gas processing plant, striking oil refinery in neighboring Samara region

- Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry says plant temporarily stopped receiving gas from Karachaganak gas field near Russian border

ISTANBUL

Russia said on Sunday that an overnight Ukrainian drone attack targeted a gas processing facility in the country’s Orenburg region bordering Kazakhstan.

Orenburg Governor Yevgeny Solntsev said in a morning statement on Telegram that a fire broke out at one of the workshops of the partially damaged facility due to the attack, which resulted in no casualties among workers.

“All emergency services were dispatched to fight the fire,” Solntsev noted, adding that air restrictions imposed during the overnight attack were later lifted.

He did not give any further details concerning the unnamed facility that was targeted.

In a later statement, Ukraine's General Staff claimed it hit the Orenburg gas processing plant, as well as the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in the neighboring Samara region.

Also, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the country’s air defenses shot down 45 Ukrainian drones during the overnight attack, including one over the Orenburg region and 12 over the Samara region.

In the latter, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorshchev said overnight through the Russian social media company VK that the region was under attack by drones, but made no mention of the oil refinery.

Separately, Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry announced that the Orenburg plant temporarily stopped receiving gas from the country's Karachaganak gas field, near the Russian border, following the attack. It said Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom informed them of the "emergency."

It has yet to receive information on the extent of the damage or the timeline for resuming operations at the plant, the ministry said in a statement.

Kazakhstan's gas supply is unaffected by the incident, with supplies to domestic consumers continuing without any restrictions, it said, adding that the ministry is monitoring the situation and is in contact with Russian authorities and the gas field's operators.

On Oct. 3, Solntsev reported another drone attack targeting an industrial facility in the Orenburg region, the administrative center of which is about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the front line in Ukraine, claiming that four drones were intercepted at the time over the city of Orsk.

Ukrainian authorities did not comment on the incident earlier this month, though local media outlets, including state news agency Ukrinform, reported that the country's Security Service (SBU) attacked the Orsknefteorgsintez oil refinery in Orsk, citing sources in the SBU.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have frequently traded accusations in recent months over targeting each other’s energy facilities ahead of winter.

"To significantly restrict Russia’s oil industry is to significantly restrict the war (in Ukraine)," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening video address last month.