In the Russian city of Engels, Saratov Oblast, the oil depot at the Kristal plant has been burning for the fourth day after a second strike by Ukrainian drones, according to Current Time.
On 8 January, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had targeted the oil storage facility at the Kristal plant in Engels. On 14 January, the 14th separate drone aviation regiment of Ukraine’s Armed Forces launched a second strike on the Engels-2 military airfield, hitting the oil depot once again.
Governor Roman Busargin states that the fire’s area has “significantly decreased” and that “specialized services and experts continue to work at the site to extinguish the fire.”
The fire response resulted in the deaths of two Ministry of Emergency Situations employees, with another hospitalized. A state of emergency has been declared in the city, and local residents complain about the heavy smoke, although Busargin denied any air pollution.
According to reports, the attacks and the subsequent ongoing fire destroyed three fuel tanks and damaged six others, disabling a storage capacity of nearly 800,000 tons. The Ukrainian General Staff noted that the strike created significant logistics problems for the Russian army and substantially reduced its capability to conduct strikes against Ukrainian cities and civilian objects.
Read also:
- Drones target two airbases in southern Russia’s Rostov Oblast (video)
- Frontline report: Ukrainian deep strikes inside Russia cripple logistics and military command
- Fire engulfs Smolensk oil depot in Russia after alleged drone strike (video)
- Fire breaks out in occupied Sevastopol bay following drone attack
