Fire breaks out at oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai after drone attack
On the night of March 12, drones attacked an oil depot in the Tikhoretsky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Explosions were followed by a fire at the facility.
This was reported by the Telegram channel Astra.
According to local residents, many explosions were heard overnight near the city of Tikhoretsk, after which thick smoke and open flames appeared above the oil depot.
The Russian operational headquarters stated that the fire allegedly occurred due to “falling drone debris.” According to their data, the blaze covered an area of about 150 square metres, and no casualties were reported.
To extinguish the fire, 83 rescuers and 26 units of special equipment were deployed, including units of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in Krasnodar Krai.
Analysis of video footage from the scene suggests that fuel storage tanks at the transshipment facility of the company Tikhoretsk-Nafta may have caught fire.
“Two points of ignition can be seen in the footage: open flames in front of a large tank, which is likely also beginning to burn, while thick smoke is rising in the background — probably from other fuel tanks that are on fire,” the report said.
The Tikhoretsk oil hub is considered one of the largest oil transshipment points in southern Russia. It is located in Krasnodar Krai and is operated by Tikhoretsk-Nafta, which is part of Transneft. The facility is a major oil storage base and transshipment terminal.
Initially, it was reported that a facility belonging to Tikhoretsk-Nafta was burning. Later it was clarified that the fire occurred within a single oil industrial cluster that includes several enterprises.
Earlier it was reported that the city of Sochi had been under continuous attack by Ukrainian drones for more than a day. The targets were the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines, which supply gas to Turkey and European countries.
As a result of the strikes, one man was injured, and several houses caught fire after drone debris fell. The mayor of Sochi, Andrei Proshunin, described it as the longest attack on the city since the start of the war.
It was also reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine broke through the defences of Russian occupying troops in the south of Dnipropetrovsk region.
