Oil depot in Russia's Rostov Oblast still ablaze after drone attack – video

Satellite images showing the spread of the fire caused by a drone attack on the premises of the Rosrezerv oil depot in Rostov Oblast, Russia, have been released.

Source: Russian service of Radio Liberty

Details: The two photos, taken a few hours apart on 28 August, show that the fire spread to the third fuel tank on Wednesday.

Videos taken by eyewitnesses and the data of the NASA FIRMS system show that the fire at the oil depot has not been extinguished as of 29 August. Local Telegram channels report that the firefighters lack the special equipment to neutralise the burning fuel with foam.

For reference: The Atlas plant of the Russian Federal Agency for State Reserves in the Southern Federal District specialises in the supply of petroleum products to the Russian Armed Forces.

Russian media reports indicate that in August 2020, the plant hosted joint exercises by the Russian Ministry of Defence and Rosrezerv as part of the Caucasus 2020 exercise.

The demonstration exercises on the supply of petroleum products for the needs of the army involved three methods – road, rail and pipeline.

Background:

• Ukrainian-made attack UAVs hit an oil depot in Russia’s Rostov Oblast as a result of a joint operation by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) and the Special Operation Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (SOF).
• The Atlas plant of the Federal Agency for State Reserves in the Southern Federal District in the Kamensky district of Rostov Oblast has been attacked by drones two times; after the first drone hit, on 3 August, the blaze was quickly put out. Radio Liberty stated then that in 2020 the plant hosted joint exercises by the Russian Ministry of Defence and Rosrezerv as part of the Caucasus 2020 exercise.
• Along with the oil depot near the settlement of Astakhov, another Rosrezerv oil depot near the settlement of Proletarsk, Rostov Oblast, kept burning for 11 days in a row. NASA satellite imagery shows the fire had been extinguished, but local authorities did not report this.

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