Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot near Stavropol and set fire to the port that ferries Russian fuel and ammunition into occupied Crimea overnight on 13 July, according to monitoring channels. It was the second depot hit in the same locality in four days. Russia's local authorities confirmed the fire.
Two depots, four days, one kilometer apart
Drones hit the depot next to the railway in Vyazniki, near Stavropol, southern Russia, late at night, Russian news Telegram channel Astra reported after reviewing footage and eyewitness accounts. A powerful fire broke out. Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ showed it was still burning at 9 a.m. Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova+ said at least two tanks caught fire. The blaze continued into the afternoon.
Residents of Mykhailovsk — the town adjoining Vyazniki — and nearby settlements reported a series of powerful explosions. Fuel tanks then began exploding, spreading the fire.
Stavropol Krai governor Vladimir Vladimirov confirmed the drone raid on the "outskirts of Stavropol" and the fire in the industrial zone of Vyazniki. He claimed nobody was hurt. Authorities evacuated residents of the street next to the industrial zone because of the risk of further explosions.
The port that keeps Crimea supplied
In Krasnodar Krai's Temryuk district, the regional operational headquarters reported a fire "on the territory of one of the enterprises." Ukrainian monitoring group Krymsky Veter identified the site from satellite imagery: the oil products transshipment complex and the railway station of the port of Kavkaz.
Port Kavkaz links Russia to occupied Crimea through the Kerch ferry crossing. Russia has used those ferries to push ammunition, weapons, and fuel onto the peninsula. Ukraine hit the port on 21 and 23 June, igniting its oil terminal. After the first of those strikes, Krasnodar authorities suspended ferry traffic and told truck drivers to reach Crimea by the land corridor instead.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed air defenses and electronic warfare "intercepted" 342 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over 16 regions, including Moscow and Moscow Oblast, and over the Azov and Black seas.
Read also
-
Drone raid hits Russian explosives-linked chemical plant in Stavropol Krai overnight. Again (MAP)
-
ISW: Ukraine has opened a new phase of Crimea’s isolation by hunting seaborne fuel tankers
-
Russia wrapped its fuel tanks in protective nets—Ukraine’s drones burned them regardless: two oil depots burned last night
