22 March 2026
Russian emergency services have been trying for a second day to contain a fire at the Saratov oil refinery.
Satellite images of the site, published by the Exil+ Telegram channel, capture the scale of the response. An image from March 21, 2026, indicates that around a dozen units of specialized equipment were deployed to fight the blaze.
As of 12 pm on March 22, 2026, NASA monitoring satellites were still detecting elevated temperatures in the area of the oil depot, suggesting the fire had not yet been brought under control.
The blaze follows a strike on the Saratov oil refinery launched overnight on March 21 by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.
Fire at the Saratov oil refinery, March 22, 2026. Photo credits: NASA FIRMS
This resulted in damage to key facilities at the plant.
Operators of the 1st Separate Center, the 414th Birds of Magyar Brigade, and the 413th Raid Regiment, in coordination with other components of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, executed the operation.
It looks like a fairly small fire. Why hasn’t it been extinguished yet? Are the cockroaches lacking fire fighters? Are they being burned in Ukraine?