An early morning fire engulfed fuel storage tanks at the Atlas facility in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, following what appears to be another Ukrainian drone strike. The site is considered a critical part of the Russian military’s fuel logistics in its war against Ukraine.

Fire confirmed by satellite data

Militarnyi reports that NASA’s FIRMS satellite service recorded an abnormal temperature spike over the Atlas industrial facility in Kamensk district at 3:41 UTC or 06:41 Kyiv Time on 23 June 2025. The site houses 32 fuel tanks, many of which were reportedly engulfed in flames. 

Local sources reported a “series of powerful explosions, so strong they triggered car alarms” in Kamensk district around 4 a.m.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that 14 drones were shot down in Rostov Oblast. Local governor Yuri Slyusar confirmed a fire, but did not name the affected facility:

“Air defense is still responding to an aerial attack in the northern part of Rostov Oblast. So far, UAVs have been destroyed in the Millerovsky, Kamensky, Tarasovsky, Bokovsky, and Milyutinsky districts. As a result of the attack, a fire broke out at an industrial facility in Kamensky district,” he wrote at 3 a.m., later updating that as of 7:50 the fire was allegedly extinguished.

At the time of publication, no footage from the scene is available to confirm the new damage to the facility.

Not the first possible attack on the Atlas

This is not the first time the Atlas fuel complex has been struck. A similar drone attack caused a massive fire overnight on 29 November 2024. Another strike in August 2024 also targeted the same facility, damaging fuel storage units and triggering a fire. 

The depot, located at coordinates 48.457086, 40.330746 near Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, lies just 100–150 km from the front lines. Its proximity to the battlefield and its logistical role make it a high-value target in the ongoing war.

Previous strikes on fuel infrastructure

Earlier in June, Ukrainian drones hit industrial areas near the Lukoil oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. That attack marked a renewed campaign against Russia’s fuel and energy infrastructure after a pause in such operations.

Just one day prior, on 6 June 2025, the Rosrezerv Kristall fuel depot used by a Russian strategic bomber base in Engels, Saratov Oblast, also suffered a drone strike.