On the night of January 8, Ukrainian long-range drones targeted the state reserve storage facility "Kombinat Kristall" in the Saratov region, where Russians store fuel for their Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers. Considering that the latter require very specific fuel, it is possible that such a strike could "ground" these aircraft for some time. This information was previously confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Moreover, as of today, it is known that the affected oil depot has been burning for the fourth day, and during this time, the Russians have been unable to extinguish the fire. This was acknowledged in a post by the governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busargin, who noted that "the process of fuel combustion continues," and that "specialists are taking all necessary measures." According to official reports from the Russians, the area of the fire has allegedly decreased by 80%.
Additionally, today, Saturday, January 11, new videos have surfaced online showing drones flying over the Saratov region. It is preliminarily suggested that this could be another attack on the airbase or nearby facilities. In one of the videos, local fishermen mention a "second" drone heading towards Engels.
Furthermore, the Russians have released screenshots from a phone, which indicate that today, they received messages from the Ministry of Emergency Situations about the threat of drone strikes in the Saratov region. Locals also complained about drone flights on January 10; however, it is likely that they were targeting other objectives, as they flew "past" the airbase.
In the context of the attack on "Engels," it is worth mentioning that the Russians decided to "hide" some of their Su-34s at this airbase after Ukraine received permission to strike deep into Russia with ATACMS ballistic missiles and Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles. However, in the event of a drone attack, Russian aircraft have enough time to leave the airbase.