Tuapse Oil Refinery in Flames After Drone Strike Hits Russia’s Black Sea Port

A drone strike triggered a major fire at an oil refinery in Tuapse, in Russia’s Krasnodar region, after fuel storage tanks ignited on site, according to Russian outlet Astra and imagery shared by the OSINT community Exilenova+ on April 16.

Regional authorities confirmed that unmanned aerial vehicles targeted the facility overnight. Local residents reported hearing multiple explosions, with videos circulating online showing large-scale fires burning across the refinery complex.

By morning, officials had suspended classes across all educational institutions in Tuapse, citing the aftermath of the attack.

Temporary flight restrictions were also introduced at Krasnodar airport due to drone activity in the airspace.

The Tuapse refinery is a major industrial asset on Russia’s Black Sea coast. It operates as a unified complex alongside a maritime oil terminal run by RN-Tuapse Sea Terminal LLC, enabling the processing and export of petroleum products.

As one of the country’s largest refineries specializing in primary oil processing, the facility is part of the structure of Russian energy giant Rosneft. It has an annual processing capacity of around 12 million tons of crude oil.

Its output includes petroleum distillates, fuel oil, diesel, and aviation kerosene—roughly 90% of which is exported—making the site a critical component of Russia’s energy and logistics infrastructure.

Earlier, long-range strike drones hit a major Russian petrochemical facility in the city of Sterlitamak.

Multiple drones struck the site during the morning hours. The target is believed to be AO Sintez-Kauchuk or the nearby Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant, both key elements of the region’s industrial base.

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