Fire reported at oil depot in Russia's Krasnodar Krai amid drone attack

A fire was reported at the Pavlovskaya oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai overnight on Sept. 28 amid a large-scale drone attack on the region, according to local reports.

Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ published footage of a large fire and identified the facility as the Pavlovskaya oil depot.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the footage or the reported target.

An oil depot in Novotitarovskaya was reportedly hit in a drone attack on Sept. 24.

During that attack, Exilenova+ reported that the facility caught fire, while Russian authorities acknowledged a fire at an unidentified facility in the Dinsky district of Krasnodar Krai. No injuries were reported at the time.

Ukraine did not on the Sept. 24 attack.

The latest reported strike also comes two days after Ukrainian forces struck the Ilsky oil refinery elsewhere in Krasnodar Krai, sparking a fire at the facility.

Ukraine's General Staff later confirmed the Sept. 26 strike, while Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said the operation involved the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces and the 414th Unmanned Systems Brigade, known as "Madyar's Birds."

Ukraine has intensified “long-range sanctions”, or long-range attacks against Russian oil infrastructure, targeting refineries, depots, and other facilities that Kyiv says support Moscow's war effort, in an effort to disrupt fuel supplies and reduce energy revenues.

Ukraine's General Staff said on Sept. 21 that repeated long-range strikes had knocked out 45% of Russia's total oil refining capacity. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify that figure.

News Editor, North America

Tamara Nowakowsky is an editor on the North America desk at the Kyiv Independent. She is a Canadian journalist with more than two decades of experience across radio, television, print, digital media, and communications. Her work includes reporting for CBC Radio and Television, serving as editor-in-chief of Long Beach Magazine in Long Beach, California, and hosting travel and adventure segments on CKUA Radio. She has also worked in communications and media relations, including with the David Suzuki Foundation.

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