Information
A drone attack early this morning caused several oil storage tanks to catch fire near the town of Azov in Russia’s southern Rostov region, which borders Ukraine. The governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, reported the incident on the Telegram messaging app, stating that oil product tanks were set ablaze due to the drone strike and that, according to preliminary data, there were no casualties. The Russian Emergencies Ministry released videos showing thick smoke and large flames emanating from the affected oil storage tanks. In response to the fire, approximately 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the site to combat the blaze.
While Ukraine did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, it has a history of conducting similar strikes. Kyiv has justified these actions by stating that such targets are legitimate, as they are used to fuel Russia’s military operations during its invasion of Ukraine. The ongoing conflict has seen frequent use of drone technology to target infrastructure critical to the opposing side’s military capabilities. The incident highlights the ongoing tensions and active conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with both sides engaging in strategic strikes aimed at crippling each other’s resources and military supply chains. The situation remains tense, with international observers closely monitoring the developments.
Source: Reuters, DW, EuroNews
So what
It is highly likely Kyiv is using these attacks as a way to slowly degrade Russia’s ability to trade oil, thereby significantly damaging its money-making ability and directly hurting its war effort. This is due to the likelihood that the country’s leadership understands that the West and other countries cannot or will not stop buying Russian oil, regardless of the situation, so their only remaining choice is to conduct attacks on this infrastructure directly. So far, this appears to be an effective strategy with Russian oil exports already falling dramatically.
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