Ukraine hits Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery again, causing new fire
MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a massive fire at a Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse on Tuesday, officials said. It was the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks, officials said.
The Ukrainian military confirmed it carried out the attack, the latest in a series of intensified attacks designed to disrupt Russia’s oil industry and cut off revenues that help Moscow finance the war in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin ordered Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov to go to Tuapse to supervise firefighting efforts and deal with the consequences of the incident.
The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of worsening global oil shortages by targeting storage facilities containing oil destined for export.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moscow’s accusations. In the past, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia’s exports are not important enough to affect global market prices.
Images on social media showed dense black smoke rising from the direction of the Tuapse refinery. The state consumer watchdog told people to stay home and keep windows closed.
Following the previous attack on April 20, black rain fell on the Black Sea port city and a popular seaside resort, leaving behind an oily residue.
The refinery halted production on April 16 after drone damage at the port made it impossible to transport production, industry sources told Reuters. According to officials, at least three people died in the attacks, one of which caused an oil spill at sea.
The head of the Tuapse region, Sergei Boyko, on Tuesday ordered people living near the refinery to evacuate by bus to a local school.
SOME RESIDENTS SAY ANGER AFTER ATTACK
On social media, some residents expressed outrage and demanded an explanation as to why air defenses had not been strengthened to prevent a third successive attack, while others complained that Moscow was indifferent to their plight.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said authorities were “working intensively” to combat Ukraine’s drone attacks.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy targets since March as US-brokered peace talks stalled and Washington focused mainly on the Iran war.
The annual production capacity of the Tuapse refinery is approximately 12 million mt or 240,000 barrels per day, producing naphtha, diesel, fuel oil and vacuum kerosene.
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
