Fire continues to rage at Russian factory, 24 hours after Ukrainian attack By Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian firefighters were still battling a fire on Thursday that was said to have broken out more than 24 hours after a Ukrainian drone strike at an oil depot near a strategic bomber air base in the Volga region.

“It takes a certain amount of time for the burnout process to complete. The situation is under control,” regional governor Roman Busargin said in a Telegram post.

A state of emergency was in place in Engels, a city of 200,000 people about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow after the fire spread and two firefighters died trying to put it out.

Busargin said the fire broke out after a mass drone attack at an industrial site, which he did not name. The Ukrainian military said Wednesday it had set fire to an oil depot that serves as an air base for Russian nuclear-capable bombers.

Engels is located hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine. In December 2022, three members of the Russian Air Force were killed when a drone was shot down there.

Russian news reports also said the fire broke out at an oil facility. Videos and photos posted on social media showed a large fire sending thick clouds of smoke into the night sky.