Up until now, there have been reports that long-range kamikaze drones of the Ukrainian Defense Forces attacked the "Krystal" oil depot near the "Engels" airfield, one of the bases for Russia's strategic aviation, during strikes on January 8 and January 14, 2025.
Now we have the opportunity to assess the physical impact that has already resulted from this strike, and whether additional attacks on this oil depot will be necessary to completely cut off fuel supply to "Engels".
The UK Ministry of Defence, in its latest intelligence update, released a satellite image of the aforementioned "Krystal" oil depot as of January 21, 2025, indicating that four tanks at this facility were completely burned, while another ten sustained significant damage.
Considering that there are a total of 58 fuel tanks at this oil depot, it follows that as a result of the two attacks by long-range UAVs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the "Krystal" oil depot, 20% of the facility's capacity has been damaged or completely incapacitated.
This implies that at least eight attacks by our long-range kamikaze drones may be required to completely incapacitate the "Krystal" oil depot, thereby depriving the "Engels" airfield of direct fuel supply necessary for the Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft.
On the other hand, it is important to emphasize certain points. The Russian forces continue to use the "Engels" airbase for basing their tactical aviation and strategic bombers like the Tu-95MS and Tu-160, which in turn dictates the necessity for further strikes on the aforementioned "Krystal" oil depot.
Furthermore, if and when the complete incapacitation of this oil depot near the "Engels" airfield is achieved, it could create an interesting precedent where a significant portion of the enemy's strategic aviation capacity is rendered inoperative due to the destruction of supporting infrastructure.
Lastly, one can recall an interesting example from World War II, which states that Nazi Germany was able to produce up to 1,200 long-range He-177 bombers between 1942 and 1944, which had a flight range of up to 6,000 kilometers and could carry up to 7,000 kilograms of bombs.
These aircraft were characterized by having four engines housed in two engine gondolas, which created certain operational challenges. Based on their specifications, the German He-177 could pose a significant threat even to the British Isles, but from the second half of 1944, the use of these bombers by the Germans ceased purely due to a severe fuel shortage.
