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Fire at Kavkazskaya oil depot in southern Russia burns for five days
A fire broke out in the night of 18–19 March 2025 at an oil depot near the village of Kavkazskaya in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Regional officials said it followed a Ukrainian drone attack, and Moscow described it as a deliberate strike on an energy facility. These accounts could not be independently verified. According to The Kyiv Independent, the site is the Kavkazskaya oil pumping station, which links a railroad oil terminal with the Kropotkinskaya pumping station.
One storage tank and the oil products in it kept burning. Reports on the size of the fire differ: the regional administration spoke of about 2,000 square meters, while Reuters gave 1,250 square meters for the burning tank on 22 March and noted earlier reports of about 10,000 square meters. On 21 March, depressurization of the burning tank caused an explosion and a release of burning oil, according to Reuters.
On 22 March four water-loaded firefighting trains were brought in. According to Reuters, 473 firefighters and 189 pieces of equipment were working at the site, fighting the fire at one tank and cooling other equipment. The use of foam was not mentioned. As of 24 March the fire was in its fifth day. No injuries were reported.
The attack came shortly after a proposed pause on strikes against energy sites had been discussed between Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the attack violated it.
What this case shows. At Kavkazskaya the fire centered on a single tank, yet it was in its fifth day when the reports ended. It took 473 firefighters, 189 pieces of equipment and water-loaded firefighting trains, and an explosion followed when the tank was depressurized. How the FoamFatale system is meant to be used when a single tank is burning is explained on the storage tank fire extinguishment page.
Sources: Reuters via Arab News (22 March), Newsweek (23 March), The Kyiv Independent (24 March).