Dramatic moment huge explosion rips through Russian oil depot after Ukrainian drone attack in another blow to Putin

THIS is the unbelievable moment a gargantuan explosion violently rips through a Russian oil depot after a spectacular Ukrainian drone attack.

As Ukraine braced itself for a new attack by Putin’s “unstoppable” Oreshnik nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Kyiv exploded another Russian oil depot.

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The mass drone strike penetrated air defences and detrimentally hit the facility in Oryol region.

Footage shows huge orange flames and thick black smoke erupt into the night sky.

The facility remained burning for hours after the devastating attack.

Regional governor Andrey Klychkov said: “A massive drone attack has sparked a fuel fire at an infrastructure facility.

“Operational services are on the site, taking measures to eliminate the consequences of the enemy’s attack.”

Meanwhile Russia claimed to have downed 37 Ukrainian drones striking its territory overnight.

In recent months, Ukraine has consistently denuded Russian oil facilities – including those supplying the military machine attacking its territory.

The attack came as Ukrainians were warned that a new hypersonic Oreshnik strike may be imminent, including at the weekend.

An unnamed representative of the U.S. National Security Council told the Financial Times: “As (Vladimir) Putin has said publicly, Russia intends to launch another experimental Oreshnik missile at Ukraine, and it is possible that Russia could do so in the coming days.”

The aim would be to intimidate Ukraine after Kyiv used British and US weapons to strike Russian territory.

Putin has said that its destruction is equivalent to a tactical nuclear weapon even when using conventional warheads.

The first use of the Oreshnik on 21 November was on Ukrainian city Dnipro, in this case without live warheads.

Experts say Oreshnik is a modification of the RS-26 missile, also known as the Rubezh.

Fabian Hoffmann, a defence expert and doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, told the Kyiv Independent: “I think basically they [the Russians] just took apart the RS-26 or just cannibalised it, and then put together this new missile with a couple of upgrades and a new paint job.”

Originally made in 2011, and successfully tested the following year, it is a 36,000 kilogram, nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile.

The range is a whopping 3,600 miles.

Putin has vowed to station the weapon in Belarus next year – from where it could hit Britain just eight minutes after a launch, it is claimed.

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A million people have been killed or maimed by Russia’s bloodbath war in Ukraine.

Nato chief Mark Rutte said: “Every week, there are over 10,000 killed or wounded on all sides in Ukraine.

“Over 1 million casualties since February 2022.”

The figure suggests Ukraine has lost around 300,000 soldiers as Britain estimates Russia’s losses are 700,000.

Rutte announced the grim milestone as he warned the 32 national alliance was unprepared for war.

The straight-talking ex-Dutch Prime Minister said: “We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years.


“Danger is moving towards us at full speed. 
 We must not look the other way.

“We must face it. What is happening in Ukraine could happen here too.”

He said the West faced more danger now than during the Cold War.

And he urged allies to ramp up defence spending to “a lot more than 2 per cent” of GDP – the current Nato target.

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