A fire has been raging for more than a day at an oil depot in Azov, in Russia's southern region of Rostov, after an alleged drone attack.
Several oil storage tanks have been engulfed in flames after the attack, with fires still to be put out, accordion to Reuters, citing local emergency services.
The depot lies around 150km from Ukraine’s southern border.
The drone attack was carried out early on Tuesday by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), reported the news agency, quoting a Ukraine intelligence source.
The local emergency services used a Telegram channel on early Wednesday to report the “fire at the Azov district has been localized at the 3,200 square metres at 05:30 (0200 GMT)”.
Reuters cited a local source who said the attack struck the Azovskaya and Azovnefteprodukt depots. They have a total of 22 fuel tanks, holding what is thought to be crude oil.
Ukraine has been carefully targeting Russian energy infrastructure since the invasion by Russia two years ago, in an effort to disrupt Russia’s economic stability and oil and gas earnings.
Several news agencies have also previously reported that Ukraine’s attacks have been carried out in retaliation for Russian strikes on the Ukrainian energy system.
Some of the most notable Ukrainian attacks were an early June drone strike at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov region, and a May attack on the Importpischeprom oil products terminal at Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.
However, despite the attacks, Russia’s hydrocarbon earnings still appear strong.
Russia reported last week that oil and gas budget revenues jumped by more than 73% in the January–May 2024 period compared with the same time last year.
According to data from Russia’s Finance Ministry, between January and May 2024, revenues for the Russian federal budget from oil and gas reached Rbs4.95trn ($55.7bn).
“In line with parameters of the socioeconomic outlook, a steady surplus of oil and gas revenues above their base level is also expected in months to come,” local news agency TASS reported, citing a statement from the ministry.
