Destruction of fuel storage in Engels may limit the use of Russian Tu-160s - Defense Express
On the night of January 8, the state reserve storage facility "Kombinat Kristal" in Engels, where fuel for the Russian strategic air base "Engels" was stored, was attacked.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Defense Express.
According to Defense Express, the Engels air base is the location of Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Division. The Tu-95MS uses standard aviation fuels such as T-1, TS and RT, while the Tu-160 requires a special high-density fuel, T-8V, which provides a specific yellow exhaust color.
The production of T-8V is complex and is carried out only at a limited number of refineries.
"Unfortunately, it was not possible to find information on its production in Russia, but during the Soviet era, high-density fuels were produced only at petrochemical plants in Angarsk (now Angarsk Petrochemical Company) and Orsk (now Orsknefteorgsintez)," Defense Express writes.
As noted, hitting T-8V fuel tanks could limit the use of Tu-160 bombers, although Russia rarely uses them to strike Ukraine. The last time these aircraft were involved in an attack was on November 17, 2024, which was the first time they had been used in 550 days.
If the T-8B's fuel was compromised, it would cause significant difficulties for the combat capabilities of Russian strategic aviation.
Strike on Saratov and Engels on January 8, 2025
Earlier, Censor.NET reported that Saratov and Engels were under a massive drone attack at night: there were fires and a company was damaged.
In Engels, an oil storage facility at the air base is on fire after a drone attack.
