A raging fire continued on Monday at a Russian oil depot in the southern Rostov region, a day after Ukraine launched a drone attack on the facility, with local media reporting that at least 40 firefighters have been injured so far while attempting to put the fire out.
Early on Sunday, Ukraine targeted Russia’s Kavkaz oil and petroleum storage facility in Rostov, prompting an air defense response that led to a fire at the facility, which is located around 150 miles from the border with Ukraine.
According to The Kyiv Independent, citing Rostov officials, Russian air defense units thwarted the drone attack but their efforts caused debris to strike the facility, setting it on fire.
Energy installations have been key targets in the conflict by both sides.
Ukrainian officials have claimed responsibility for the attack, noting that “oil and petroleum products, which were supplied to the Russian occupation army were stored here”.
Local authorities have declared a state of emergency.
This latest Ukrainian attack comes amid an ongoing ground force incursion by Ukraine into Russia’s Kursk territory, where Ukraine is attempting to establish a buffer zone and to cut off a key Russian military supply chain.
While there are multiple fronts in the Russia-Ukraine war, Kyiv’s surprise ground incursion launched on August 6 has been sustained and represents a potential escalation of the conflict beyond its organic borders.
While there has been no dramatic pushback from Russia since Ukraine’s brazen ground incursion, the development could be seen as crossing a red line due to the fact that Western countries are arming Kyiv for these operations.
In the meantime, the Kremlin warned Poland on Monday that it will respond decisively to any attempts to intercept Russian missiles over Ukraine, which would be considered direct involvement by a Western country. The warning came in response to the Polish foreign minister’s statement earlier in the day that Warsaw was contemplating shooting Russian missiles down over Ukraine.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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