Ukrainian strike drones hit an oil depot in Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, overnight on 16 March, setting the facility ablaze, according to the Russian regional operational headquarters. Open-source intelligence analysis confirmed that the target was the Yugnefteprodukt depot in the city's northern industrial zone. The attack is the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on energy infrastructure across southern Russia.
Strike on southern Russia's Labinsk at 2 a.m.
Local Telegram channels first reported explosions near Labinsk's oil depot around 2 a.m. Residents filmed the moment of impact and the ensuing fire and shared the footage online. Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ published videos and photos showing flames across several fuel storage tanks. As of the morning, the fire continued, footage showed.
Krasnodar Krai's operational headquarters confirmed on Telegram that a UAV attack caused a fire at an unnamed oil depot.
"A fire broke out at an oil depot in the industrial zone of Labinsk as a result of a UAV attack," the headquarters stated, adding that no casualties were reported.
Four fire crews, firefighting and rescue personnel were deployed to extinguish the blaze.
Krasnodar Krai serves as a strategic logistics hub for the Russian army. Oil depots in the region supply fuel to Russian troops fighting in southern Ukraine. Knocking out facilities in Labinsk, Tuapse, or Novorossiysk complicates refueling of Russian military vehicles and aircraft, disrupting fuel supplies directly at the front.
