Ukraine Drones Set Oil Depot Ablaze in Russia’s Rostov, Governor Says 

A view from a vehicle's glass window shows a fire in the oil tanks at the Glubokinskaya oil depot, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Kamensky district, Rostov region, Russia in this screen grab from social media video released August 28, 2024. (Video obtained by Reuters/via Reuters)
A view from a vehicle's glass window shows a fire in the oil tanks at the Glubokinskaya oil depot, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Kamensky district, Rostov region, Russia in this screen grab from social media video released August 28, 2024. (Video obtained by Reuters/via Reuters)
TT

Ukraine Drones Set Oil Depot Ablaze in Russia’s Rostov, Governor Says 

A view from a vehicle's glass window shows a fire in the oil tanks at the Glubokinskaya oil depot, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Kamensky district, Rostov region, Russia in this screen grab from social media video released August 28, 2024. (Video obtained by Reuters/via Reuters)
A view from a vehicle's glass window shows a fire in the oil tanks at the Glubokinskaya oil depot, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Kamensky district, Rostov region, Russia in this screen grab from social media video released August 28, 2024. (Video obtained by Reuters/via Reuters)

A Ukraine drone attack sparked a fire at an oil depot in the Kamensky district of Russia's southern region of Rostov, its governor said on Wednesday, confirming media reports that several tanks were on fire.

"There are no casualties," the governor, Vasily Golubev, said on the Telegram messaging app. "Firefighters are extinguishing the fire."

Russian air defense units destroyed four drones over the region overnight, the Russian defense ministry said, without mention of an attack on the depot.

Earlier, the Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russia's security services, said three tanks were burning at the Kamensky oil depot after two drones fell on the area.

Videos posted on Russian social media showed what looked like large tanks ablaze at night. Reuters was able to identify one of the videos as located in Rostov's Kamensky district.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

A fuel storage depot in the Kamensky district was attacked in early August as well.

The attack comes while tanks were still on fire at another oil depot in Rostov's Proletarsk district, about 10 days after a Ukrainian attack, Russian Telegram channels said.

Separately, Alexander Gusev, the governor of Voronezh, which borders Ukraine, said debris from a Ukraine-launched drone over the region sparked a fire "near explosive objects". But there was no detonation, he added.

The fire was doused, Gusev said on Telegram, and residents were returning to homes in two settlements from which they had been evacuated.

The Russian defense ministry said eight attack drones were destroyed over the Voronezh region, but gave no details.

Russian officials often do not disclose the full extent of damage inflicted by Ukrainian attacks.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war launched by Russia's full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor. Kyiv says its air attacks aim to destroy energy, transport and military infrastructure key to Moscow's war effort.



Russia Criticizes UN Nuclear Watchdog After Trip to Plant Close to Fighting 

A handout photo made available by ROSATOM press service shows IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi (L) visiting Kursk nuclear power plant n Kurchatov, Kursk region, Russia, 27 August 2024. (EPA)/ROSATOM press service handout)
A handout photo made available by ROSATOM press service shows IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi (L) visiting Kursk nuclear power plant n Kurchatov, Kursk region, Russia, 27 August 2024. (EPA)/ROSATOM press service handout)
TT

Russia Criticizes UN Nuclear Watchdog After Trip to Plant Close to Fighting 

A handout photo made available by ROSATOM press service shows IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi (L) visiting Kursk nuclear power plant n Kurchatov, Kursk region, Russia, 27 August 2024. (EPA)/ROSATOM press service handout)
A handout photo made available by ROSATOM press service shows IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi (L) visiting Kursk nuclear power plant n Kurchatov, Kursk region, Russia, 27 August 2024. (EPA)/ROSATOM press service handout)

Russia said on Wednesday it wanted the International Atomic Energy Agency to take a "more objective and clearer" stance on nuclear safety, a day after the head of the agency visited a Russian nuclear plant close to where Ukraine has mounted an incursion into the country.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi toured the Kursk plant on Tuesday and warned of the danger of a serious nuclear accident there. He said he had inspected damage from a drone strike, which Russia had blamed on Ukraine, but did not say who was responsible.

Russian state news agency RIA quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying in a radio interview that Moscow wanted the IAEA to speak out more clearly on issues of nuclear security, although she denied it was demanding that the agency should take a pro-Russian line.

"We see both the assessments and the work of this structure (the IAEA), but each time we want a more objective and clearer expression of the position of this structure," Zakharova said.

"Not in favor of our country, not in favor of confirming Moscow's position, but in favor of facts with one specific goal: ensuring safety and preventing the development of a scenario along a catastrophic path, to which the Kyiv regime is pushing everyone."

Ukraine has not responded to Russian accusations that it attacked the plant in Kursk region, close to where its forces launched a surprise incursion on Aug. 6 that Russia is still trying to repel. Fighting has been taking place about 40 km (25 miles) from the facility.

Grossi said during his visit that the plant, built to a Soviet design, was especially vulnerable because - unlike most modern nuclear power stations - it lacked a containment dome that might offer protection in the event of a strike by drones, missiles or artillery.

Asked by a reporter at a news conference to condemn the drone damage as a "nuclear provocation" by Ukraine, Grossi replied: "Again, pointing fingers is something that I, as director general of the IAEA, must take extremely seriously. But it is obvious that you cannot separate what we have seen here from the recent military activity that we have seen."

The IAEA has urged both sides throughout the 30-month war to refrain from fighting around nuclear plants in order to avoid a catastrophic incident.