Ukrainian uncrewed aerial systems have disabled 25% of storage capacity at the Kristall oil depot near Engels-2 Airbase in Saratov Oblast, Russia, through two precision strikes in January 2025, according to UK Defence Intelligence reports.
The coordinated attacks on one of Russia’s key fuel facilities demonstrate Ukraine’s expanding capability to degrade strategic infrastructure deep within Russian territory, with satellite imagery confirming impacts on 14 of the facility’s approximately 40 storage tanks.
The initial strike on 8 January 2025 triggered large-scale fires within the petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) storage area, which reportedly took several days to extinguish. It reportedly destroyed 800,000 tons of jet fuel, equivalent to 900 sorties by 21 strategic bombers.
A follow-up attack on 14 January reignited the facility and caused additional infrastructure damage. Analysis of satellite imagery from 21 January 2025, released by the UK Ministry of Defence, reveals four POL tanks were completely destroyed and ten others sustained significant damage, affecting a quarter of the depot’s total storage capacity.
Assuming that the Kristall depot has large fuel tanks storing 80,000 tons of jet fuel each, and that 100% of this capacity was lost in the four destroyed tanks and 50% in the damaged tanks, this would put the total amount of destroyed fuel at 720,000 tons, which supports the Ukrainian earlier estimate.
The Kristall oil depot’s strategic location, just 8 kilometers from Engels-2 Airbase, makes it a crucial component of Russia’s military logistics infrastructure in the region. The substantial degradation of its storage capacity could impact fuel supply operations for both civilian and military purposes.
The successful execution of these strikes, coupled with the significant proportion of storage capacity affected, highlights Ukraine’s growing precision in targeting key Russian infrastructure, according to UK Defence Intelligence assessment.
