Two Russian Oil Depots Burn After Ukrainian Drone Strikes Overnight

Ukrainian drones struck Russian oil depots in Tver and near Mikhailovsk in the Tver and Stavropol regions, setting fires at both facilities, according to the OSINT community Exilenova+ on July 9.

Photos and videos from the sites showed thick black smoke rising over the affected fuel infrastructure.

Initial reports suggested that the Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt oil depot in Mikhailovsk had been hit. However, Russian media outlet Astra reported that the fire broke out at a different oil depot in the village of Vyazniki in the Shpakovsky district.

The regional governor later confirmed that an “industrial facility” in Vyazniki caught fire after a drone attack.

By around 7 am, the official said the fire at the site had intensified and that residents of nearby homes were being evacuated to temporary accommodation centers.

The oil depot is located about 1.3 kilometers from Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt and serves as a major hub for receiving, storing, transferring, and small-scale wholesale distribution of light petroleum products, including diesel fuel and different grades of gasoline.

The facility includes a tank farm, loading rack, and related technological infrastructure.

Separately, drones struck the Tvernefteprodukt oil depot in Tver, north of Moscow.

Videos published by residents showed at least one storage tank burning on the territory of the facility.

The depot belongs to a company responsible for receiving, storing, and distributing light petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel fuel. It also supplies its own network of 52 gas stations and carries out wholesale deliveries across the Tver region.

The head of the region confirmed the drone strike on the oil depot.

“Last night in Tver, as a result of repelling a UAV attack, one of the tanks at the Tver oil depot caught fire,” he said.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces struck nine tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Sea of Azov during an overnight operation on July 8.

Ukrainian drone units have hit a total of 19 shadow fleet tankers, one cargo vessel, and one ferry in the Kerch area over the past 72 hours.

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