This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a fire at an oil depot earlier hit by a Ukrainian drone attack near Proletarsk, Russia, on Aug. 19.Planet Labs Pbc/The Associated Press
Ukrainian drones set oil tanks on fire at an depot in Russia’s Rostov region, Russian Telegram channels reported on Wednesday.
Russia’s air defence units destroyed four drones over the Rostov region overnight, the Russian defence ministry and Rostov’s governor, Vasily Golubev, said on the Telegram messaging app, but made no mention of an attack on an oil depot.
The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russia’s security services, said that three tanks were burning at an oil depot in the Kamensky district of the Rostov region after two drones fell on the area.
A fire in the oil tanks at the Glubokinskaya oil depot, in Kamensky district, Rostov Region, Russia, in a screen grab from a social media video released Aug. 28.Video Obtained by Reuters/Reuters
Videos posted on Russian social media showed what looked like large tanks ablaze at night. Reuters was able to identify the location of one of the videos as in Rostov’s Kamensky district.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
A fuel storage depot in the Kamensky district was attacked in early August as well.
The attack comes while tanks were still on fire at another Rostov’s oil depot, in the Proletarsk district, some 10 days after a Ukrainian attack, Russian Telegram channels report.
Separately, Alexander Gusev, the governor of the Voronezh region that borders Ukraine, said debris from a Ukraine-launched drone over the region sparked a fire “near explosive objects.” Gusev added that there was no detonation.
The fire had been extinguished, Gusev said on Telegram, and residents from two settlements who were evacuated from their homes were returning.
The Russian defence ministry said eight attack drones were destroyed over the Voronezh region, but it provided no further detail.
Russian officials often do not disclose the full extent of damage inflicted by Ukrainian attacks.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour. Kyiv says that its air attacks aim to destroy energy, transport and military infrastructure that’s key to Moscow’s overall war effort.