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Fire at Russian Oil Depot After Reported Ukraine Drone Strike

July 13, 2024

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An oil depot in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region caught fire in a Ukrainian drone attack early Saturday, local officials said, the latest long-range offensive by Kiev’s forces into the border region.

Ukraine has stepped up air strikes on Russian territory in recent months, targeting refineries and oil terminals in an effort to weaken the Kremlin’s military power. Russian forces are mounting a fierce offensive on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, but a third year of the war has left the defenses vulnerable with a shortage of soldiers and ammunition.

Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev said the drone strike caused a 200-square-meter (2,100-square-foot) fire but caused no casualties. Golubev said the blaze had been put out about five hours after he reported it on Telegram.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that two drones were intercepted over Rostov Oblast, and that Russian air defense systems had destroyed two more drones overnight over the Kursk and Belgorod Oblasts in the country’s west.

Fire breaks out at oil depot in Russia’s Rostov region

Some reports said the fire broke out after a Ukrainian drone attack on a gas tank. pic.twitter.com/jiRJnKSfKW

— Nexta (@nexta_tv) July 13, 2024

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Saturday morning that its air defenses had intercepted four of five drones launched by Russia overnight. Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oreshchuk said the fifth drone had left Ukrainian airspace and was heading towards Belarus.

In other developments, Ukrainian governor of the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, said on Saturday that Friday’s Russian attack had killed six people and wounded a further 22.

Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson region, which is also partially occupied, said on Saturday that one person had been killed and six wounded in Russian artillery fire the previous day.