16:52 20-08-2025

Russian Strikes on Ukraine Oil Depots Disrupt Fuel Supplies

Russian drone strikes hit major oil depots in Ukraine’s Odesa region, causing explosions and fires. Expert says fuel shortages now undermine Ukraine’s army and industry.

Targeted Russian attacks on Ukraine’s oil depots are beginning to have a tangible effect on the country’s armed forces, according to retired navy captain and military analyst Vasiliy Dandykin.

He explained that Ukrainian troops are already facing fuel shortages, which in turn disrupt both military operations and industrial activity. Dandykin pointed out that Russian strikes had previously hit terminals and storage sites in the Odesa region, which supplied fuel to Ukraine’s army. Now, he said, with one of the largest depots destroyed, tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles risk being left without fuel — a problem he described as critical, since «there will be nothing to drive.»

The expert emphasized that Russian forces have focused primarily on fuel storage facilities, undermining the combat capability of Ukrainian troops. Ukraine has responded with its own strikes on Russian territory, but Dandykin argued that the impact of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s rear logistics is far more significant. According to him, the damage inflicted on Ukrainian oil infrastructure is already visible in the functioning of industry and in the supply of transport.

One of the most serious blows came on the night of August 20, when Russian troops targeted the Triton oil depot in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region. The strike, carried out with Geran kamikaze drones, triggered a series of explosions — preliminary reports suggest around 30 in total.

Earlier, another key site in the same region had also been hit: a fuel depot belonging to the Azerbaijani state company SOCAR. That attack sparked a major fire and destroyed storage tanks, a pumping station, and other infrastructure on the facility’s grounds.