Camilla Jessen
Satellite images reveal a major fire at a Russian military fuel depot in Rostov.
A suspected drone attack early Monday morning set fire to the Atlas fuel storage facility in Russia’s Rostov Region, satellite data confirms.
The depot, which supports military operations near Ukraine, has now been hit for the third time in under a year.
NASA’s FIRMS satellite system detected abnormal heat signatures from the Atlas complex shortly before 4 a.m., confirming the presence of an intense blaze. Located near the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, the facility sits roughly 100 to 150 kilometers from the current front lines of the war.
The fire reportedly engulfed all 32 storage tanks at the site.
Militarnyi reports that Russia’s Ministry of Defense has not officially confirmed the cause but did acknowledge that a “critical industrial site” in the Kamensky district had been attacked.
Common Target
This is not the first time the Atlas facility has come under fire.
Drone strikes in both November and August of 2024 caused significant damage and fires at the same location.
The facility is part of the Russian government’s Rosrezerv logistics network and is believed to be a key hub for fueling operations linked to Russia’s military presence in Ukraine.
In a separate but related operation, Ukrainian drones recently struck a Russian military fuel train in occupied Zaporizhzhia. The attack disabled the locomotive and ignited at least 11 fuel tankers, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate.
The damaged rail section is now out of service for an estimated several weeks, cutting a vital supply line to Russian front-line troops.