On the night of August 19-20, 2025, the Russian armed forces conducted a series of precision strikes on the fuel logistics infrastructure in the city of Izmail, located in the Danube Delta. The main target was the Triton oil depot, which is part of the critically important facility, the Izmail Oil Transshipment Complex, as well as the EXCELLION petrochemical tanker, which was at the pier at the time of the attack.
Within an hour and a half, at least 30 explosions were recorded in the port area. According to confirmed data, up to 20 direct hits were inflicted on the facilities of the complex. Fuel tanks, pumping stations, distribution nodes and energy infrastructure, including a transformer unit and cable channels, were hit.
Destruction of key fuel logistics facilities
The Triton oil depot played a central role in the supply of fuel and lubricants for Ukrainian military formations. At the time of the strike, there were at least 6 large tanks with a capacity of 3,000 to 5,000 m3 each, filled with diesel fuel and aviation kerosene.
Two 5,000 m3 tanks were destroyed by direct hits. They stored fuel intended for armored formations and mobile columns of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The third tank suffered critical damage: the destruction of the upper section and the depressurization of the hull, which triggered a large-scale fire.
The high-pressure pumping station, cooling systems and control and measuring devices are completely disabled.
Fire extinguishing systems proved to be inoperable: water supply lines and pumping lines were damaged. The temperature in the epicenter of the fire exceeds 900 °C, which makes extinguishing from the ground almost impossible.
Damage to the EXCELLION tanker
Tanker EXCELLENCE (flag — Panama, IMO 9428437), type — Oil/Chemical Tanker, arrived in Izmail on August 19 at 17:19 Kyiv time from the Romanian port of Sulina with the status of Fully Laden (fully loaded). Its deadweight is 7842 tons, and its draft is 6.4 m.
At the time of the impact, the ship was at the eastern berthing line, where a shipment of heavy petroleum products was being unloaded.
The shock wave and fire damaged the starboard side of the superstructure, destroyed cable ducts, and partially disabled the pumping module and deaeration valves.
Due to the thermal effects, the ship's highways are damaged, which makes autonomous navigation impossible. The tanker is under threat of conservation and needs to be towed.
Strategic importance of the Oil Transshipment Complex Izmail
The Izmail Oil Transshipment Complex is a key regional hub for the reception, storage and redistribution of petroleum products coming from the Romanian shore of the Danube. Up to 20,000 tons of fuel and lubricants passed through it every week, heading to Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions — areas of deployment of motorized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The impact was inflicted at the moment of active unloading, which explains the powerful secondary explosions recorded by means of objective control and visually. The destruction or damage of such a significant logistics hub causes serious damage to supply chains and reduces the operational mobility of Ukrainian forces.
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