Ukrainian Drone Strike Ignites Prolonged Blaze at Russian Oil Terminal

A Ukrainian drone strike ignited a long-lasting fire at an oil terminal in southern Russia, specifically in Azov, affecting several storage tanks. Despite extensive firefighting efforts, the blaze persisted for over a day, complicating the efforts of emergency services. This incident underscores the ongoing conflict's impact on energy infrastructure.

A blaze caused by a Ukrainian drone strike on an oil terminal in southern Russia has been raging for more than a day and a half despite the efforts of firefighters, the regional governor said on Wednesday.

Several oil storage tanks in the town of Azov caught fire after a drone attack early on Tuesday that a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters was conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Vasily Golubev, governor of the Rostov region, wrote on Telegram that emergency services had been unable to extinguish the flames as of Tuesday afternoon as the second storage tank had been depressurised.

Azov has two oil product terminals, DonTerminal and Azovproduct, which handled a total of about 220,000 tons of fuel for export during the period from January to May 2024. Ukraine has often said that targeting Russia's energy, military and transport infrastructure undermines Moscow's war effort.