India to gain? Trump’s Russian diesel deal offers New Delhi leverage

On 10 October, a drone strike targeted more than half of the large fuel tanks at an oil-loading terminal in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don, according to Russian news channel Astra. The terminal, which loads fuel onto river and sea tankers for export, was set ablaze and continued burning for two days. Neither Kyiv nor Moscow officially acknowledged the attack.

The strike occurred shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Russia has been targeting Ukraine's power grid with long-range drones ahead of winter, causing significant damage to refineries, depots, and terminals that fuel Russia's army and generate export revenue. The Russian military has already been subsidizing fuel prices.

Based on eyewitness footage, Astra concluded that at least seven out of the terminal's 12 large tanks were knocked out. Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova+ confirmed seven burned-out tanks, while one more was scorched by the fire. The fire was still burning on the early hours of 12 October. Local channel Rostov Glavny posted video of the burning tank farm, noting rumors of reeds catching fire and reporting the city’s second day under smoke.

Footage from 12 October showed only gray smoke, with no open flames. Satellite imagery of the oil-loading terminal during the fire was captured by Radio Liberty. The Novoshakhtinsk refinery, located near the border with Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast, is crucial as it supplies fuel to the Russian army and generates hard currency for Moscow.

The terminal has a loading capacity of 3.5 million tons per year and a tank farm of about 60,000 cubic meters.