Drone strikes hit Russia: Oil depot burns in Rostov region and Moscow goes on alert
Photo: Russian Emergency Situations Ministry worker (Getty Images)
Russia was attacked by drones on the night of June 18 — Russians reported drones in Gukovo, Rostov region, where an oil depot caught fire as a result. There was also danger in the skies over Moscow, according to OSINT channels.
The video from Gukovo shows a UAV strike, an explosion, and then a fire that grew to significant proportions. This all happened on the territory of the oil depot. The footage shows an intense fire site and large, black columns of smoke reaching up to the sky.
The oil depot in Gukovo is located in the Rostov region of Russia, not far from the border with Ukraine. The facility is used to store and transship petroleum products and is also important to fuel logistics in the region.
Gukovo is a major transport hub with railway infrastructure through which freight transportation is carried out.
Local authorities confirmed the attack on Gukovo, as reported on Telegram by Rostov region governor Yuri Slyusar.
"As a result of the UAV air attack, a locomotive was damaged and two commercial facilities caught fire. Emergency services are working at the scene. Information will be clarified. The air attack is currently ongoing. The drone threat remains," the official wrote around 5 a.m. Kyiv time.
Attack on Moscow
Moscow and the region also came under a drone incursion. The mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, wrote about allegedly 15 drones that circled over Moscow that night and were successfully shot down by air defense forces.
The official also reported debris left from the drones after they were hit — emergency services are working at the scene.
OSINT channels also published several videos showing drones flying in the Moscow region.
Moscow is on high alert after drone strikes ignite an oil depot firehttps://t.co/EKZ84dWLvv pic.twitter.com/XFIVS2bbE0
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) June 18, 2026
Drone strikes hit Russia as fire breaks out at oil depot in the Rostov region (Photo: https://t.me/exilenova_plus)
Drone strikes hit Russia as fire breaks out at oil depot in the Rostov region (Photo: https://t.me/exilenova_plus)
Ukrainian drones have been actively destroying the enemy's energy infrastructure in recent years to weaken the Russian economy and, above all, to make the war impossible.
Against the backdrop of these attacks, a fuel crisis has erupted in Russia – the world's once-largest exporter of gasoline has begun purchasing it from abroad.
It was recently reported that Ukrainian strikes on Russia are already costing the Kremlin billions of dollars and reducing its oil revenues.
