A satellite image shows smoke and fire rising from an oil depot, amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, at Astakhov in the Kamensky district, Rostov Region, Russia, August 28, 2024. 2024 Planet Labs Inc./Handout via Reuters
Ukrainian drones struck two fuel depots in Russia, sparking fires, officials said Wednesday (August 28, 2024) the latest of Kyiv’s repeated hits against Russian oil and gas facilities since Moscow’s full-scale offensive into Ukraine.
A drone attack caused a “fire in a fuel depot” in southwest Russia’s Rostov region, Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev wrote on Telegram.
“Firefighters were still battling the flames, but no residential homes were threatened by the blaze and no one was injured,” Mr. Golubev wrote.
A source from Ukraine’s defence intelligence service confirmed the hit to AFP, saying the facility “is directly involved in the supply of the Russian occupation forces”.
After a separate drone attack, a large fire has been raging for 10 days at another oil storage facility in the Rostov region’s city of Proletarsk, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
“Ukrainian drones also attacked an oil depot in the Russian city of Kotelnich in the northern Kirov region,” the region’s Governor Alexander Sokolov said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday (August 28, 2024).
The drone attack was reportedly the first in that region, some 1,100 kilometres (685 miles) from the Ukrainian border since Russia launched its offensive in 2022.
“Two drones were shot down, while three fell on the plant premises and started burning,” Mr. Sokolov said, adding that the fires were “quickly extinguished” and there were no damages or injuries.
Since the conflict began, Kyiv has repeatedly targeted Russian oil and gas facilities, in what it has called fair reprisals for Moscow’s attacks on its energy infrastructure.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his forces for hitting oil facilities in Russia, saying the attacks would help bring a “just end” to the conflict.
