Crimean Oil Depot Strikes and Bashkiria Explosion

October 17, 2025October 18, 2025

This day turned out to be especially fruitful for striking various targets deep behind enemy lines. Crimean oil depot strikes dominated the headlines, but they were far from the only success. By the end of the day, more detailed reports emerged about what managed to get hit.

Characteristically, the enemy confirmed part of what our drones attacked. This includes electrical substations and even the Simferopol thermal power plant, which our sources hadn’t reported. Then, in the afternoon, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine released an official statement that looks like this:

On the night of October 17, Defense Forces units attacked an oil depot in the town of Hvardiiske. A fire broke out at the facility. We recorded a hit on an RVS-2000 reservoir tank.
We also delivered a successful strike on the ‘federal state treasury institution Kombіnat Hvardiiskyi’ of the russian reserve, located in the village of Karyerne in the Saky district.
Among other things, we hit a fuel and lubricants warehouse of russian troops in Dzhankoy, as well as a Nebo-U radar station in Yevpatoria.

Crimean Oil Depot Strikes: Two Separate Targets Confirmed

Here we should clarify an important point that might mislead readers. The Orcs¹ use identical names for different objects, and this can cause confusion. In the town of Hvardiiske on the outskirts of Simferopol, where the airbase of the same name sits, there’s a private oil depot. Clearly, military aircraft fuel was stored there. However, the Hvardiiskyi plant sits in the Saky district — that’s a fuel and lubricants storage facility of the Orcs’ state reserve system. So two separate oil depots got hit.

On top of that, a fuel and lubricants warehouse in the Dzhankoy area was hit. Therefore, problems with fuel in temporarily occupied Crimea are only just beginning, and it’ll get even more fun going forward. As far as I can recall, the Black Sea Fleet’s oil depot in Sevastopol hasn’t “given a hat”² yet. And when it finally gets hit, a festival of flames and fuel will begin that’ll be remembered for a long time.

Friendly Fire: Russia Shoots Down Its Own Su-30

Let’s remind everyone once again — the Orcs shot down their own multi-role Su-30 aircraft. It took off to intercept our drones. What it intercepted there remains unknown. By evening, the Orcs clarified the reasons for the aircraft’s “malfunction” that led to its crash. According to the pidars,³ a fire broke out in both engines simultaneously. They didn’t specify the reasons for such a strange ignition. But the overall picture is clear. The Orcs continue downing aircraft with all their orcish hatred — both civilian passenger planes (Malaysian MH17 or the Azerbaijani Embraer E190) and their own combat aircraft.

Bashkiria Explosion: Military Plant Goes Up in Flames

And to complete the picture of the day — an explosion at the Sterlitamak plant “Avangard” in Bashkiria. This is a purely military enterprise, and as it should be, it’s part of the Rostec military enterprises system, which is run by Pootin’s childhood friend Chemezov. From open sources, we know the plant specializes in producing explosives, including gunpowder, and fuel for solid-fuel rockets of various classes.

According to local propaganda, the explosion occurred due to a violation of safety regulations. Perhaps this should be understood as a cigar butt exploding at the plant? But local Orcs say the epicenter was in a technological facility that dealt with nitrocellulose production — a substance used for making gunpowder. According to other data, the explosion occurred at a collodion production site, from which workers then obtain nitrocellulose.

In any case, the explosion was substantial, and as a result, the workshop for producing all these substances no longer exists. Obviously, there are 200s⁴ and 300s⁵ among the Orcs there. It’s probably worth thinking about how well such plants explode from the inside. Knowing how successfully our specialists work, it’s quite possible the explosion happened precisely from within. Combined with the Crimean oil depot strikes, this day proved that Ukraine’s long-range capabilities continue to grow — and the enemy’s strategic infrastructure keeps burning.

Notes

¹Orcs – a common term for Russians who support or participate in the armed aggression against Ukraine.

²Gave a hat (Ukrainian “дати шапку”) – from naval slang, meaning to release a thick column of smoke. Used sarcastically on WiU regarding russian oil refineries, since after meeting the Ukrainian drones they also release thick columns of smoke.

³Pidar (pronounced “pidar”) – Ukrainian military slang for an enemy combatant. In radio communications, the word “Pidar” sounds shorter and clearer than “Enemy” especially under EW.

⁴200 (200th, dvukhsotyi) – in Ukrainian Army code for killed in action (KIA). Refers to cargo “200” — zinc coffins with dead soldiers.

⁵300 (300th, tryokhsotyi) – in Ukrainian Army military code for wounded in action (WIA). Refers to medical evacuation category.