Oil depot fire in Russia's Rostov Oblast extinguished after more than 2 weeks, authorities say
A fire at the Kavkaz oil and petroleum storage facility just outside Proletarsk, a town in Russia's Rostov Oblast, was finally extinguished on Sep. 2, the state-run media outlet TASS said, citing emergency services.
The fire began on Aug. 18 following a Ukrainian strike on the oil depot, one of many attacks on Russian oil and energy infrastructure. There were unconfirmed reports that a second strike on the facility occurred on Aug. 23 after the initial fire began.
The fire reportedly began after Russian air defense units repelled a drone, but debris hit an industrial warehouse at the oil depot, igniting a diesel fuel fire.
Ukraine's General Staff later confirmed a strike on the plant, which stored oil and petroleum products for the Russian army.
Local authorities said in late August that at least 49 firefighters were injured as they struggled to contain the fire.
Proletarsk is located some 230 kilometers (142 miles) southeast of the regional capital of Rostov-on-Don and 340 kilometers (211 miles) from the border with the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast.
Martin Fornusek
