A Ukrainian drone attack has caused a “large-scale fire” at Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea, forcing the evacuation of nearby buildings, local officials said on Tuesday.
The Rosneft-owned refinery delivers oil products mainly for exports but operations have been halted since April 16 following an earlier drone attack, industry sources said.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the reports.
Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russia since March, with US-brokered talks on the war in Ukraine on pause and Washington mainly focusing on the Iran war.
“Another serious incident has occurred in Tuapse. A large-scale fire broke out at an oil refinery after a drone attack,” said Veniamin Kondratiev, the governor of the wider Krasnodar region, on Telegram on Tuesday.
The head of the Tuapse district, Sergei Boyko, ordered the evacuation of streets near the refinery because of the danger of the fire spreading.
