Fire took hold at an oil depot in southern Russia’s Stavropol Krai overnight on July 13, and Ukraine was reported to be behind it. The Mikhailovskaya depot, in the village of Mikhailovsk, was set ablaze after being targeted, according to the Telegram news channel Exilenova Plus.
The independent Russian outlet Astra, citing local residents, said the strikes hit a depot in nearby Vyazniki instead. Stavropol Krai Governor Vladimir Vladimirov confirmed a fire in an “industrial area” of Vyazniki. Both villages are suburbs of Stavropol, about 365 kilometers (225 miles) from Ukraine.
Moscow Oblast under attack
Later that night, explosions were reported in Solnechnogorsk, in Moscow Oblast, as air defenses went into action. A residential building was hit and two people were hurt, Governor Andrey Vorobyov said. He also described a worse scene in the village of Pionersky. “Unfortunately, there are casualties and injuries. In the village of Pionersky, three people were killed, and three others were injured as a result of a drone crash. A fire broke out in five homes,” he said.
Vorobyov put the number of drones shot down over Moscow Oblast at 81. The Kyiv Independent said it could not immediately verify the details.
A run of strikes on fuel
Stavropol Krai had been hit days before. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on July 9 that a large fire at the Stavropolskaya oil depot in Vyazniki was still spreading. Ukrainian strike drones also set fire to the Krasnaya Zvezda facility in Tver Oblast, the SBU said.
The sea has been a second front. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said drones struck 21 Russian tankers and seven other vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight on July 11. “The shadow tanker fleet is noticeably shrinking,” he wrote. “It appears traffic through the Kerch Strait has been stopped.”
The next day, July 12, he said Ukraine destroyed 14 more Russian vessels. Kyiv describes the campaign as an effort to choke the funding behind Russia’s war, and says it regularly hits military infrastructure deep inside Russia and occupied territories to weaken Moscow’s ability to keep fighting.
Sources
- Ukraine reportedly strikes Russian oil depot in Stavropol Krai, explosions reported in Moscow Oblast
