The fire in the Russian oil depot broke out after the drone attack in Ukraine

A massive fire continued Monday at a Russian oil depot in the southern Rostov region, a day after Ukraine launched a drone attack on the facility, with local media reporting that at least 40 firefighters have so far been injured as they were trying to put out the fire. .

Early on Sunday, Ukraine targeted Russia’s Kavkaz oil and petroleum storage facility in Rostov, prompting an air defense response that resulted in a fire at the facility, which is located about 150 miles from the Ukrainian border.

According to The Kyiv Independent, citing Rostov officials, Russian air defense units thwarted the drone attack, but their efforts caused debris to hit the facility, setting it on fire.

Energy installations were key targets in the conflict on both sides.

Ukrainian officials claimed the attack, noting that “Oil and oil products were stored here, which were supplied to the Russian army of occupation”.

Local authorities have declared a state of emergency.

This latest Ukrainian attack comes amid an ongoing incursion by Ukrainian ground forces into Russia’s Kursk territory, where Ukraine is trying to establish a buffer zone and cut off a key Russian military supply chain.

Although there are multiple fronts in the Russia-Ukraine war, Kiev’s surprise ground incursion launched on August 6 has been supported and represents a potential escalation of the conflict beyond its organic borders.

While there has been no dramatic pushback from Russia since the ill-fated incursion into Ukraine, the development could be seen as crossing a red line due to Western countries arming Kiev for these operations.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin warned Poland on Monday that it would respond decisively to any attempts to intercept Russian missiles over Ukraine that would be considered direct involvement by a Western country. The warning came in response to the Polish foreign minister’s statement earlier in the day that Warsaw was considering shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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