Ukrainian drones have struck a major gas processing plant in southern Russia, sparking a fire and forcing it to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan, Russian and Kazakh authorities said.

The Orenburg plant, run by state-owned gas giant Gazprom and located in a region of the same name near the Kazakh border, is part of a production and processing complex that is one of the world's largest facilities of its kind, with an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic meters.

It handles gas condensate from Kazakhstan's Karachaganak field, alongside Orenburg's own oil and gas fields.

According to regional Governor Yevgeny Solntsev, the drone overnight strikes set fire to a workshop at the plant and damaged part of it.

The Kazakh energy ministry on Sunday said, citing a notification from Gazprom,

See Full Page