Russian oil refinery explodes, sending a 200ft tower of flames into the sky
A massive explosion has erupted at a Russian oil depot that was hit by a Ukrainian missiles four days ago.
Video footage shows flames almost 200ft high at The Marine Oil Terminal in Feodosia, in Russian-controlled Crimea.
The refinery has been burning since it was targeted by Ukrainian forces on Tuesday to coincide with Vladimir Putin’s 72nd birthday.
Authorities thought they had contained the inferno, but it ignited again appears to be getting worse, with several explosions reported.
There are now fears the depot could be destroyed.
The strike was originally reported as a drone, but it appears instead to have been two ATACMS long range missiles supplied to Ukraine by the US.
The Putin-appointed governor of occupied Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said the emergency and security services were on hand.
The explosion reached almost 200ft (Picture: East2West News/social media)
‘The terminal is surrounded by employees of the relevant services, and all the managers are also on site,’ he explained.
‘I am personally monitoring the situation, receiving reports from the scene via video link every half hour.’
The strike at Crimea’s largest oil terminal is a blow to Russia since it plays a key role in supplying Putin’s armed forces.
People were evacuated from the vicinity.
Smoke rises in the air at the burning oil depot (Picture: via Reuters)
It comes as Russia’s FSB detained a 30-year-old man who was accused of providing details of military targets to the Ukrainian secret services in Feodosia. This included naval shipping.
Under questioning, he said he wanted to stop Russia firing Kalibr missiles at residential targets in Ukraine.
Ukraine has has also hit an airport in Krasnodar region in recent days, as well as a large stash of Iranian kamikaze drones – supplied by Iran to Russia.
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