A major Russian oil refinery on the Black Sea has been hit for the third time this month by Ukrainian drones, causing a “massive fire” and forcing the evacuation of people living nearby, local officials have said.
Earlier strikes in the past two weeks at the Tuapse refinery caused a big oil spill in the sea and residents reported “black” rain falling on the city and leaving an oily residue everywhere.
The Kremlin accused Ukraine of “further increasing the oil shortage in global energy markets… and provoking further destabilisation”.
Ukraine’s military confirmed the latest drone strike, saying such refineries helped fund Russia’s full-scale invasion launched in 2022.
More than 160 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the blaze, Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Tuesday. No casualties were reported.
