Azerbaijan oil depot SOCAR hit by 10 Russian drones in second Odesa attack this month

Russian forces launched a drone attack on oil terminals belonging to Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR in Odesa Oblast overnight on 18 August, triggering a major fire at the fuel infrastructure facility, according to regional officials.

Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said that despite active air defense operations, the attack resulted in significant damage in the Odesa district.

A fire broke out at a fuel and energy infrastructure facility and a two-story building in the suburbs of Odesa, according to Kiper.

Former Deputy Prosecutor General Gunduz Mamedov identified the target as SOCAR’s oil terminals in a social media post. Sources within Ukraine’s State Emergency Service told Ukrainska Pravda that 10 drones were used in the attack on the Azerbaijani facility.

The emergency response involved over 100 personnel, including rescuers, volunteers, National Guard firefighters, and local fire brigade teams. Ukrainian Railways deployed a fire train to assist with extinguishing the blaze.

Preliminary reports indicate no casualties or injuries resulted from the attack.

This marks the second strike on SOCAR facilities in Odesa Oblast within 10 days. On 8 August, Russian forces hit the same oil depot with five Shahed-type drones, causing fires and damaging a diesel fuel pipeline.

The overnight assault was part of a broader Russian attack involving four missiles and 140 drones targeting multiple Ukrainian oblasts. Ukraine’s Air Force reported that air defense systems shot down or suppressed 88 Russian drones across northern, southern, eastern, and central areas of the country by 9:00 am.

The attacks resulted in confirmed strikes at 25 locations across Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Kyiv oblasts.

The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian oblasts with various types of weapons, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy and water supply facilities. The Ukrainian authorities and international organisations qualify these strikes as war crimes by Russia and emphasise that they are of a targeted nature.

Overnight on 18 August, Russian forces also attacked residential building in Kharkiv, killing five people, including two children.