Local officials early Thursday reported that a fire at an export-oriented oil refinery owned by Rosneft in the town of Tuapse, southern Russia, has been extinguished after it broke out during the night. The refinery is one of several energy infrastructure facilities that experienced fires or drone attacks across Russia last week. Sergey Boyko, head of the Tuapse region, stated via Telegram, "The fire started in the unloading unit of the refinery. According to initial information, there are no casualties or injuries."
A Ukrainian source told Reuters on Thursday that Ukraine targeted a Russian oil refinery in Tuapse with drones as part of an operation by the Ukrainian security service. The source indicated that Kyiv would continue to attack facilities that supply fuel to the Russian army. The refinery has an annual capacity of 12 million tons (240,000 barrels per day) and primarily supplies fuel to Turkey, China, Malaysia, and Singapore. It produces oil, fuel oil, gas oil, and high-sulfur diesel.
The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are not immediately clear, and a representative from Rosneft could not be reached for comment. Unofficial channels on Telegram shared images of the fire and suggested that drones were responsible for its outbreak. Russian energy company Novatek announced on Sunday that it was forced to halt some operations at a massive fuel export terminal in the Baltic Sea and "technological operations" at its fuel production complex after a fire broke out, which Ukrainian media reported as a drone attack. Russian news agencies cited officials at the main airport near Sochi as saying that landing and takeoff operations had been suspended. The crews and air traffic control are taking all precautionary measures to ensure flight safety in the area.
