UK intelligence reveals aftermath of drone strikes on Russian oil depot near Engels airbase

The UK Defense Ministry said this in an intelligence update on Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"On 8 January 2025, Ukrainian uncrewed aerial systems reportedly struck Kristall oil depot, Russia, 8 km from the Engels-2 airbase. The strike caused large-scale fires within the petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) storage area of the depot, reportedly taking several days to extinguish. A further strike was also reportedly conducted on the night of January 14, once again targeting Kristall oil depot, reigniting the fire and causing further infrastructure damage to the site. Analysis of imagery from 21 January 2025 highlights four assessed destroyed POL tanks and ten assessed damaged POL tanks," the update said.

It added that the repeated strikes indicate an increased Ukrainian ability to target Russian infrastructure.

On January 8, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed the initial strike on the Kristall oil depot. The facility was successfully targeted again on January 14.