SOCAR oil depot near Odesa hit by Russia for the second time this month

On the night of August 18, Russia launched a drone attack on the Odesa region. As a result, a fuel and energy infrastructure facility and a two-story building caught fire in the suburbs of Odesa, according to Odesa Regional Administration Head Oleh Kiper.

"Our rescuers promptly extinguished the massive fire. A fire train of Ukrzaliznytsia was involved in the operation. According to preliminary information, no one was killed or injured," he said.

Videos posted on social media indicate that the target of the attack was, in particular, the SOCAR oil depot.

The Azerbaijani outlet Minval reported that this was the same depot previously attacked by Russia on August 8.

"It was a series of direct hits, followed by a fire. All the tanks, the pumping station building, operator’s rooms, weighing facilities, and technical premises were damaged, and the fence was destroyed. The storage capacity of this depot exceeds 16,000 cubic meters. This was the second large-scale strike. Earlier, on August 8, about 10 UAVs were launched at the same tank farm, causing partial destruction," the publication noted.

• On August 11, following Russian attacks on SOCAR facilities, the President of Azerbaijan allocated $2 million in aid to Ukraine.