Crimea Oil Depot Engulfed in Fire After Drone Attack

Dramatic video footage has proven a gas tank ablaze within the Crimean port metropolis of Sevastopol from a suspected drone assault.

The peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 has come beneath repeated assaults because the begin of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine final 12 months for which Moscow has blamed Kyiv.

Clips shared on social media on Saturday present flames ripping by means of the ability within the Kazachya Bay district and smoke billowing into the sky. By daylight, the plume of smoke was nonetheless rising over the town,

The Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhaev, mentioned on his Telegram account that preliminary data urged two drones had brought about the hearth. Tass information company reported it engulfed round 21,500 sq. ft.

There have been 60 firefighters attempting to manage the blaze, which Razvozhaev mentioned was beneath management however wouldn’t be totally extinguished till 6 p.m. native time, round 14 hours after it began. Nobody had been injured and there can be no evacuation of close by residents, the governor added.

He mentioned that the hearth is not going to have an effect on the gas provide state of affairs in Sevastopol, including, “I wish to emphasize as soon as once more: the primary factor is that nobody was damage. With the remaining—we’ll determine it out.”

Over the past six months, there have been common stories of fires and assaults on the Russian-occupied Crimea and Sevastopol, its largest metropolis and the primary naval base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine has repeatedly mentioned it supposed to recapture the peninsula as a part of its goals to struggle towards Russian aggression. Ukraine’s armed forces, which Newsweek has contacted, haven’t commented on the most recent blaze, however Ukrainian social media customers reveled within the reported strike.

“The Ukrainian nights could be a bit chilly within the Springtime, so the Armed Forces of Ukraine generously helped the Russian invaders get warmed within the occupied Sevastopol,” tweeted Operation Starsky, the account of a Ukrainian nationwide guardsman.

“Nothing brings me extra pleasure on the weekend morning than burning accidents at Russian occupiers’ bases in quickly occupied Crimea. Nothing,” tweeted Maria Drutska.

“Is that this the official begin of Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive to liberate Crimea from Russian fascists?” tweeted Igor Sushko, a Ukrainian racing automotive driver.

It comes a day after Russian missiles hit residential areas in Ukraine which authorities mentioned have killed 25 folks. Within the assaults, buildings have been hit by missiles in Uman, within the Cherkasy area.

Following the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Kyiv’s allies to supply higher air defenses, together with fighter jets “to supply safety to our cities, our villages, each within the rear and on the entrance traces.”