Ukrainian FM: Russia attacked SOCAR "on purpose, acting against Azerbaijan’s interests"

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has said the Russian attack on SOCAR oil facilities in Odesa demonstrates the importance of a new level of cooperation between Baku and Kyiv.

"This night, Russians struck SOCAR oil terminals in the Odesa region. Second Russian strike on the Azerbaijani state company in recent weeks," Caliber.Az quotes Sybiha as saying in an X post. 

Sybiha is confident that the attack was purposeful: "Moscow does this on purpose, acting against Azerbaijan’s interests."

"This once again demonstrates the importance of the new level of cooperation between Ukraine and Azerbaijan, as well as the need for appropriate diplomatic and legal responses to such attacks," the Ukrainian diplomacy chief added.

The latest incident occurred overnight on August 17-18, when Russian forces launched a barrage of Shahed-type drones—often classified as loitering munitions or kamikaze drones—targeting the SOCAR oil depot near Orlivka in Odesa. Local reports and eyewitness accounts described multiple explosions, resulting in fires at the depot and nearby infrastructure, including a Nova Poshta terminal and additional SOCAR fuel terminals.

This strike is part of a broader series of Russian attacks on Azerbaijan-linked facilities in Ukraine, which analysts describe as deliberate and politically motivated.

On August 8, Russian drones hit a SOCAR oil depot in the Odesa region, causing a fire and damaging a diesel pipeline. Four SOCAR employees were reported injured.

In early August, Russian forces targeted a gas compressor station near Orlivka, part of the Trans-Balkan pipeline that delivers imported Azerbaijani and U.S. gas, disrupting a vital energy corridor.

On July 6, explosions in Berezina, Zhytomyr region, seriously damaged two SOCAR-owned gas stations, with local authorities suspecting that Russian sabotage groups were involved.

By Khagan Isayev