Full Breakdown
Fire Rages at Rostov-on-Don Oil Terminal After Reported Drone Strike
By Drooid · · How we work
Ongoing Blaze at the Novoshakhtinsk Facility
A fire that began after a reported Ukrainian drone attack over the weekend continues to burn at an oil terminal in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Independent media outlets Astra and Exilenova+ released footage showing flames and thick smoke rising from the terminal’s fuel storage tanks. As of midday on the third day of the blaze, authorities had not announced that the fire had been extinguished.
Facility Capacity and Damage Claims
The terminal, owned by the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, holds a total of 60,000 cubic meters of fuel across 12 storage tanks and processes up to 3.5 million metric tons of petroleum products annually, according to publicly available data. The Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova reported that seven of the 12 tanks had burned and that an additional tank showed signs of fire damage. Video released by the channel displayed several blackened tanks alongside others still engulfed in flames.
Assessment of the Situation
The extent of the damage cannot be independently verified at this time. Neither Russian officials nor independent on-site investigators have confirmed the number of tanks affected or the volume of product lost. The lack of official confirmation leaves the true scale of the incident uncertain.
Potential Implications
If the reported damage to the majority of the terminal’s storage capacity is accurate, the fire could disrupt the refinery’s ability to handle its annual throughput of 3.5 million metric tons, potentially affecting regional fuel supplies. The incident also underscores the heightened vulnerability of energy infrastructure in the context of the ongoing conflict.
Gaps and Unverified Information
The primary source of information about the tank damage is the Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova, whose claims have not been corroborated by independent observers or Russian authorities. Consequently, the precise impact of the blaze on the terminal’s operational capacity remains unclear.