Russia struck an oil depot belonging to Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company, SOCAR, in Ukraine’s Odessa region for the second time this month amid the worsening of Baku-Moscow ties.
Ukrainian Presidet Volodymyr Zelenskiy revealed the news of the massive strike on SOCAR’s property on Monday, saying “the deliberate attack not only on us but also on our relations and energy security." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the attack on SOCAR was targeted. “This once again demonstrates the importance of the new level of cooperation between Ukraine and Azerbaijan, as well as the need for appropriate diplomatic and legal responses to such attacks," Sybiha said on X on Monday.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said it was difficult to assess the damage to the facility. The oil depot was hit with Iran-made Shaheed kamkikaze drones on the night leading Monday, followed by strong blaze. All 17 tanks with a total volume of over 16,000 cubic meters were damaged at the oil depot as a result of the attack. The pumping station building, operator and weighing, and technical premises were also destroyed.
The same oil depot was hit by ten drones on August 8, and partially destroyed. Four SOCAR employees were injured as a result of the attack. Shortly after the attack, Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the targeting of Azerbaijani facilities in Ukraine. On August 11, Aliyev signed an order allocating $2 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine for the purchase energy equipment. Separately, a pro-government Azerbaijani Caliber news agency reported that Azerbaijan might consider selling weapons to Ukraine in response to Russia’s deliberate targeting of SOCAR’s facilities.