More of Vladimir Putin’s precious oil depots have been blitzed in the cover of the night.
Explosions rocked the border town of Azov in Russia’s southern region of Rostov after an overnight attack by Ukraine.
Drones struck multiple oil storage tanks, leaving 5,000 cubic metres of oil on fire.
Footage shows flames raging from the facility on the estuary of the Don River, 10 miles from the Azov Sea.
Plumes of black smoke are seen billowing into the sky, rising above the town.
Vasily Golubev, governor of the Rostov region, said in a statement on Telegram that there were no casualties as of yet.
Videos show firefighters arriving at the scene of the assault, attempting to tackle the fire.
Another oil depot was also reportedly attacked in the early hours of the morning in the Temryuksky District, in Krasnodar.
There has been no official information from the authorities or the Russian Ministry of Defense to date.
Ukraine’s double attack comes at a time when Putin is in Russia’s coldest region Yakutia, before flying to North Korea for a state visit.
Pyongyang is preparing for the Russian president’s arrival at the invitation of Kim Jong-un.
Portraits of the Kremlin dictator have been put up on streets along with Russian flags and the inscription ‘Welcome Putin’.
The two nations have ramped up diplomatic and economic exchanges in recent months, culminating in this week’s visit – the first in 24 years.
Russia and North Korea have exchanged dozens of government, parliamentary and other delegations since July 2023 – including 18 this year.
It marks the highest-ever number of such visits, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.
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