A fuel storage facility in Russia's southwestern Krasnodar region, located near the Crimean Bridge, was on fire early on May 3, the regional governor reported on Telegram.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Krasnodar, said the fire broke out in the village of Volna in the Temryuk district, located across the Azov Sea from Ukraine.
The Crimean Bridge, also referred to as the Kerch Strait Bridge, links Russia's mainland with the Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014.
Videos and photos appeared on social media showing large oil tanks on fire. Kondratyev said that the "fire has been classified as the highest rank of difficulty."
"Every effort is being made to prevent the fire from spreading further," Kondratyev also wrote. "There is no threat to residents of the village."
A large fire also occurred at an oil depot at the Kozacha Bay in Russian-occupied Sevastopol, located in Russian-occupied Crimea, on April 29. The head of the illegal Russian occupation government in Sevastopol said the fire was caused by a Ukrainian a drone attack.
Ukrainian Armed Forces' Southern Command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said the large fire was part of Ukraine’s “preparations” for its anticipated counteroffensive. “This work is a preparation for the broad, full-scale offensive that everyone expects," Humeniuk said, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Alexander Khrebet
