Russian Airstrikes Hit Petrol Stations In Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk

KIEV, July 1 (dpa) -- Russian airstrikes hit five petrol stations overnight in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, local authorities said on Wednesday.

Several fires broke out, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram. One woman was killed and three other people were injured, he said.

The previous night, attacks on petrol stations had been reported in the northern Sumy region. The Ukrainian industry service Naftorynok has counted more than 140 such attacks since April.

They appear to be a response to the growing fuel crisis in Russia - first in occupied Crimea and then in many other regions.

Petrol has become scarce in Russia because of Ukrainian strikes on refineries and supply routes. Russia, a major oil exporter, is therefore holding talks on possible fuel imports, according to the Kremlin.

Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, attacked the Russian city of Penza early on Wednesday. The city lies south-east of Moscow and around 550 kilometres from Ukraine.

The regional administration confirmed an attack but did not comment on any damage.

Eyewitnesses reported on social media seeing columns of smoke above one or more defence industry facilities. A ball-bearing factory and an electromechanics institute that develops navigation aids for aircraft and missiles were named as possible targets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on X an attack on a defence facility in Penza that he said develops and produces missile components.

He also reported an attack on the Ufa refinery in the Urals, around 1,300 kilometres from Ukraine.

Russia has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine for more than four years.

--NNN-dpa