Russia's Engels oil base for bombers burns for third day after drone strike
Photo: Russia's Engels oil base for bombers burns for third day (t.me/busargin_r)
A fire at a fuel storage facility near a strategic bomber airbase in the Russian city of Engels is still ongoing. Residents may experience "discomfort," citing the governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busargin.
"The fuel is still burning. According to experts, it will take another two days," the governor said.
Yesterday afternoon, residents of Engels "might have felt discomfort from the smoke" due to weather conditions, he added. Today, the wind direction changed, and the smoke is no longer heading towards the settlement, Busargin claims.
An emergency situation was declared in Engels, a city with a population of 200,000 located approximately 730 km southeast of Moscow after the fire spread and two firefighters died while trying to extinguish it.
Videos and photos published on social media showed a large fire emitting thick clouds of smoke into the sky.
Кадры с места пожара в Энгельсе на данный момент. Ветер меняется и обстановка становится хуже и хуже. pic.twitter.com/8SvKpd3bJ1
— Пан Пачковский (@Q0MT6pFmbVqynsM) January 9, 2025
Drone attack
On January 8, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Ukraine's troops attacked the Crystal Plant oil storage facility in Engels, Saratov region. The fuel depot supplied fuel to the Engels-2 military air base, where the Russian strategic aviation is based.
The destruction of the fuel depot created serious logistical problems for the strategic aviation of the Russian military and significantly reduced their ability to strike at peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects, the General Staff added.
The Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers based in Engels use special fuel T-8V. If the fuel tanks were hit during the attack, it could, to some extent, "ground" the Tu-160 bombers.
