Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A large fire has engulfed an oil depot in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on Nov. 29, local media reported.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing large clouds of smoke over the FDKU Atlas oil depot in the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky District of Rostov Oblast. Videos of the fire posted on various Telegram channels appear to show a large blaze engulfing the night sky.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the location of reported fire. Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reported attack.
Ahead of the start of the blaze, acting Rostov Oblast Governor Yuri Slyusar claimed Russian air defenses intercepted 30 Ukrainian drones in the northwest of the region. The governor added that emergency services are "extinguishing a large fire at an industrial site," without specifying the location.
Slyusar also claimed two houses were damaged in the Masalovka and Dyachkino communities amid the drone attack.
Ukraine routinely strikes Russian oil bases and weapons depots in an attempt to diminish Russia's fighting power in its war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian strikes have targeted weapons storage facilities, military bases, and oil depots in Rostov Oblast in an attempt to slow Russian advances in Eastern Ukraine and pressure Russians to call for an end to the war.
Ukrainian drones previously struck the FDKU Atlas oil facility in August, a military intelligence (HUR) source confirmed to the Kyiv Independent.
In recent months Ukraine has tried to move Russia's war away from its own territory, striking targets deeper inside Russia. On Oct. 31, a Ukrainian drone struck an oil refinery in the city of Ufa in Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, which lies some 1,500 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Fossil fuels are the primary drivers of the Russian economy and the main source of revenue for the Kremlin's war machine. Despite Western sanctions, Russia still provides oil and gas to other countries around the world, primarily India and China.
Daria Shulzhenko
