Oil depot on fire in Crimea's Feodosia following Ukrainian attack
Editor's note: The story was updated with a confirmation from the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
A fire erupted at an oil depot in Russia-occupied Feodosia in the early hours of Oct. 7 following a Ukrainian attack, according to Russian media and Ukraine's military.
Ukrainian missile forces targeted the largest oil depot in occupied Crimea, resulting in a large-scale fire, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed.
Residents reported hearing several powerful explosions around 4:30 a.m. local time, shortly before the fire started. The Crimean Wind Telegram channel also reported that airfields in Belbek and Saky were attacked overnight.
Local authorities confirmed the incident but described it as a fire.
"There’s a fire at the Feodosia oil depot. Emergency services are on the scene. No casualties or injuries have been reported," Oleg Kryuchkov, advisor to the Russia-installed proxy head of Crimea, said on Telegram.
The Telegram channel Astra later clarified that the facility on fire was the Marine Oil Terminal, previously targeted by drones in March 2024. At that time, four drones struck the depot, damaging the main fuel pipeline and causing a fire, which took over an hour to extinguish.
The Feodosia terminal is the largest in Crimea for handling oil products, with only one other terminal of its kind located in Sevastopol.
The facility "was used, in particular, to supply the Russian occupation army," the General Staff noted. The full extent of damage is being determined.
In recent months, Ukrainian forces have launched a series of drone strikes aimed at damaging Russia's oil industry, whose profits fuel Moscow's war efforts.
Francis Farrell
