Drone Strike Sparks Massive Blaze at Russian Rybinsk Fuel Depot

Drone strikes hit a Russian state fuel storage facility in the city of Rybinsk, igniting a large fire at a site linked to Russia’s strategic fuel reserves, according to the OSINT community Exilenova+ on December 31.

The attack targeted the Federal State Institution Kombinat “Temp”, part of Russia’s Rosrezerv system, which is responsible for storing fuel and other critical reserves. Yaroslavl region Governor Mikhail Evraev later confirmed that drones had struck the region.

Videos circulating online show a massive blaze engulfing what appears to be a local oil storage facility, with flames and thick smoke rising from the site.

Rybinsk sits within the broader Volga River transport system and is connected by rail, serving as an important transit and logistics hub.

Its fuel depot plays a key role in storing and distributing petroleum products across northeastern Russia, underscoring the strategic significance of the site.

In a separate strike the same night, Ukrainian drones also hit oil infrastructure in the southern Russian port city of Tuapse on the Black Sea coast, further expanding the geographic scope of overnight attacks on Russian energy assets.

The incidents are part of a growing pattern of long-range drone strikes targeting fuel storage and logistics nodes deep inside Russian territory, aiming to disrupt supply chains critical to Moscow’s military and industrial operations.

Earlier, the city of Tuapse in Russia’s Krasnodar region came under a drone attack that damaged a local oil refinery and sparked a large fire.

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