Russia continues to battle massive blaze at oil depot after drone strike

Firefighters are still battling a significant fire at an oil storage facility in Rostov region, southern Russia, following a Ukrainian drone strike on Sunday.

The blaze erupted after Russian air defense systems intercepted Ukrainian drones targeting the Kavkaz oil and petroleum storage site in the town of Proletarsk, News.Az reports citing Russian media.

A video published by local media on Tuesday showed thick black smoke blanketing the sky over Proletarsk.

The fire has so far engulfed a total area of 10,000 square meters (107,640 square feet), Proletarsk’s district head Valery Gornich told the state-run news agency TASS, adding that 520 firefighters and four aircraft were deployed to contain the blaze.

“There’s too much heat, the fire trucks can’t get any closer,” Gornich said. He told RIA Novosti that at least 20 out of 74 fuel tanks at the depot were still burning as of Tuesday morning.

Proletarsk is located approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border and about 350 kilometers (217 miles) from areas in eastern Ukraine currently held by Kyiv’s forces.

Since Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv has repeatedly targeted oil and gas facilities within Russia, describing these strikes as “fair” retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

News.Az