Rostov oil terminal burns for third day after Ukrainian drone strike
Seven of the terminal's twelve fuel tanks are reported to have burned after the overnight strike, as Kyiv's campaign against Russian energy infrastructure continues.
A fire at an oil terminal in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don continued to burn for a third day on Monday after a reported Ukrainian drone attack over the weekend, according to independent media and Ukrainian monitoring channels.
Footage published by Astra and Exilenova+ showed flames and thick smoke rising from the terminal's fuel storage tanks. The facility, owned by the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, has a total storage capacity of 60,000 cubic metres and can handle 3.5 million metric tons of petroleum products a year, according to publicly available data. Authorities had not announced that the fire had been extinguished as of midday Monday.
The Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova said preliminary information indicated that seven of the terminal's 12 tanks had burned and another showed signs of fire damage. Footage it published showed blackened tanks alongside others still engulfed in flames. The reported extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed.
The local Telegram channel Rostov Glavny also published footage of the blaze, saying the city had been shrouded in smoke for a second day. Its post suggested that reeds might be burning, citing rumours, but Astra's analysis placed the fire at the oil terminal. The facility, formerly known as Yug Rusi, was reportedly struck overnight into Saturday in Rostov-on-Don's Zheleznodorozhny district. NASA's FIRMS satellite monitoring system detected a fire at the site.
The terminal transfers petroleum products onto sea and river tankers for export and has reportedly been used to supply fuel to the Russian military. Rostov region Governor Yury Slyusar said air defences had shot down more than 100 drones over the region that night. He reported several fires following strikes and said six people had been injured, but did not mention damage to the terminal. Ukraine had not publicly claimed responsibility for an attack on the facility.
The overnight attacks also damaged a railway drawbridge on the line between Rostov-on-Don and nearby Bataysk, causing lengthy delays to dozens of trains, according to Russian Railways. Slyusar said two vessels were also damaged in the nearby city of Azov.
The strike forms part of Ukraine's sustained campaign against Russian energy infrastructure, as Kyiv continues to resist Moscow's unprovoked invasion. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression.