Zelensky says Russia deliberately targeted SOCAR facility in Odesa
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has slammed Russia for a deliberate strike on an energy facility owned by Azerbaijan’s oil giant SOCAR in Odesa.
“This was a deliberate Russian attack on an energy facility in Odesa belonging to an Azerbaijani company. In other words, it is a strike against our relations and energy independence,” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel, News.Az reports.
The attack occurred overnight on August 17–18, when Russian forces deployed Shahed-type drones—loitering or kamikaze munitions—targeting the SOCAR depot near Orlivka. Eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions and fires at the depot and nearby infrastructure, including a Nova Poshta terminal and other SOCAR fuel facilities.
Earlier this month, on August 8, Russian drones struck another SOCAR depot in Odesa, igniting a fire and damaging a diesel pipeline, with four SOCAR employees reported injured.
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