A Ukrainian drone strike caused a huge fire at the Russian Engels Air Base fuel depot. Photo: east2west news / WillWest News / Profimedia
A fire at an industrial facility in Russia has been brought under control but not extinguished, local authorities said on Saturday, three days after Ukrainian drones struck the fuel depot strategically located near the Engels-2 air base, where strategic bombers are deployed.
Authorities said on Wednesday only that “an industrial facility” was affected, without revealing more details about its situation, Reuters notes.
“The area of ​​fire at an industrial enterprise in Engels was reduced by 80%. In addition, the amount of smoke decreased significantly,” the governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busargin, told Telegram on Saturday.
Unverified images posted on social media on Saturday show that the fire is still large.
The oil depot near the Russian Engels-2 airbase in Saratov Oblast, hit by Ukrainian drones on January 9, has been burning for a fourth day. The air base is home to Russia’s fleet of Tu-160 bombers and also hosts some of its Tu-95 bombers – regularly used in mass missile strikes in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/wdLOziOEid
— Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) January 11, 2025
Other clips online showed that the situation was still serious on Friday, and smoke could also be seen on satellite images:
Video of the fire at the Engels air base in Saratov, Russia, still burning for the third day. Emergency services in Russia stopped trying to put it out and allowed it to burn. https://t.co/DUS2d25KdT pic.twitter.com/9aA3nYuw3S
— raging545 (@raging545) January 10, 2025
It was unclear whether the state of emergency declared in Engels, a city of 200,000 about 730 km southeast of Moscow, was still in place.
Two firefighters died while trying to stop the fire from spreading.
The Ukrainian military announced on Wednesday that it had set fire to an oil depot that serves as an air base for Russian strategic bombers.
According to the Ukrainians, there were many explosions and a massive fire at the “Kristal” oil depot, which they said supplies fuel for the “Engels-2” military aircraft.
“Attacking the oil warehouse creates serious logistical problems for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupiers and significantly reduces their ability to attack peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects,” the Ukrainian military said in Telegram .
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksandr Kamyshin said Kiev’s forces used long-range capabilities from Ukraine in the attack.
Engels is more than 600 kilometers from Ukraine. In December 2022, three members of the Russian Air Force were killed when a drone crashed there.
