Ukrainian drones struck the Penza region around 04:00 local time (03:00 Kyiv), prompting Penza Oblast Governor Oleg Melnichenko to confirm that Russian air defences downed four UAVs, with wreckage from one landing on the oil depot and sparking the fire.

Penza, which is situated more than 1,000 km from Ukraine's borde saw more than 100 firefighters battling a blaze at an oil depot following the attack that caused debris to ignite fuel storage facilities, TASS reported on January 23.

The Russian defence ministry, as is customary, does not disclose the total number of drones involved in attacks on military and energy facilities across Russia, nor how many of them reached their targets.

Regional Governor Oleg Melnichenko said emergency services deployed approximately 30 pieces of equipment, including two fire trains, to extinguish the flames that erupted around 4 am local time. An operational headquarters group has been established at the site to coordinate the response.

Russian air defence systems intercepted four drones over Penza during the night, with debris from one of the destroyed aircraft falling onto the oil depot and sparking the fire. Authorities confirmed no fatalities, injuries or casualties resulted from the incident.

The governor initially reported that 46 personnel and 14 pieces of equipment were involved in firefighting operations, but reinforcements increased the response significantly within hours. Mobile internet restrictions remained in effect across the region, whilst the "Unmanned Danger" mode continued to operate.

"Most importantly, no one was killed, injured, or wounded," Melnichenko wrote on his Telegram channel.

Authorities cancelled the "Air Danger" alert that had been declared earlier, allowing residents to leave shelters and move freely outdoors. The emergency warning system had activated sirens, voice alerts, SMS notifications and announcements on official channels and television when the threat was initially detected.

Regional officials warned residents against spreading photographs or videos of unmanned aerial vehicle activity, citing legal responsibility and urging reliance on verified information sources only.