January 8th night, a Ukrainian long-range strike reached an extraordinary target in russia: the Kombinat Kristall storage facility, part of the Federal Agency for State Reserves (Rosrezerv). This supply base stores fuel for the russian strategic aviation stationed at the nearby Engels Air Base, located in the Saratov Region of russia.
Footage from the site shows a large-scale fire that has engulfed part of the tanks. Local authorities also confirm that the was hit by Ukrainian long-range drones.
Read more: SSU Drones Hit Ust-Luga Port: A Blow to russia’s Economic and Military Logistics
Engels on fire, your defense is terrified Yet another russian oil depot, serving military airfield, was hit by long range capabilities #MadeInUkraine.Our #DefenseTech is our superpower. pic.twitter.com/cbO94Rqbee — Alexander Kamyshin (@AKamyshin) January 8, 2025
The attack has the potential to affect the combat readiness of aircraft based at the Engels air base, particularly Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division. Worth noting, while the Tu-95MS consumes conventional types of jet fuel (T-1, TS, RT), the Tu-160, on the other hand, requires special high-density fuel of the T-8V brand.
By the way, this uncommon combustive mixture is what gives this characteristic rich-yellow color of the exhaust of Tu-160's four NK-32 engines. The T-8V, in fact, was created for this engine specifically.
Its production process is another interesting topic, as not every oil refinery is qualified for that. Unfortunately, Defense Express was unable to find any statistical data on its production in the russian federation, but during the USSR, high-density fuels were produced only at petrochemical plants in Angarsk (nowadays known as the Angarsk Petrochemical Company) and Orsk (now Orsknefteorgsintez).
Considering the limited attainability of the T-8V fuel, if tanks containing it were destroyed by drones tonight, russian Tu-160 could be grounded completely or significantly limited in their operations. Although objectively, russian barely ever uses Tu-160 bombers for strikes on Ukraine anyway. The last time this massive aircraft was deployed on a missile launch mission was during the aerial attack on November 17, 2024, and it was the first such deployment after 550 days of inactivity.
Read more: Why russia Deploys its Tu-160 Bombers for the First Time in 550 Days
