Huge fire sends plumes of black smoke into air as fire crews scramble to Russian oil depot

A major fire continues to blaze at an oil depot in the southern Russian city of Azov following a drone attack overnight on June 17-18.

Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev confirmed the incident, attributing it to an attack by Ukrainian drones.

Governor Golubev scrambled to reassure the public claiming "there were no casualties in the incident," and adding: "There was no risk of the fire spreading to other facilities, or threats to residents."

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry released video footage of the ongoing blaze, which showed a 5,000-cubic-metre fuel tank engulfed in flames.

The ministry reported that over 70 firefighters, equipped with advanced machinery including a fire train, are actively working to extinguish the fire.

This incident follows a series of drone attacks targeting oil installations in regions close to the Ukrainian border, such as Belgorod and Novoshakhtinsk.

Russian officials have attributed these attacks to Ukrainian drones.

While Kyiv generally refrains from commenting on such incidents, it is noted that Ukraine has increasingly focused on attacking Russian energy infrastructure.

These drone strikes aim to diminish Russia's military fuel reserves, as part of Ukraine's broader strategy to weaken Russian military capabilities.

The fire comes after a huge explosion rocked the same region.

Residents near the city of Rostov lost power in their homes after explosion. Videos of the flash have been shared online.

According to reports, the explosion occurred at an electricity substation.

The office of the Mayor of Rostov said that the explosion and power outage may have originated at a water treatment facility called JSC Rostovvodokanal, a company that designs water supply systems.

Locals were left without a water supply for a number of hours. This comes during a chaotic 24-hour period for the city of Rostov.