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Ukraine’s Drone Strike Knocks Out Russia’s Only Black Sea Oil Refinery

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Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk
Cyril Barabaltchouk
News Writer
Ukraine’s Drone Strike Knocks Out Russia’s Only Black Sea Oil Refinery
A Rosneft logo sits on an oil storage tank at the RN-Tuapsinsky refinery, operated by Rosneft Oil Co., in Tuapse, Russia, on March 23, 2020. (Source: Getty Images)

Fuel exports from Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse have been suspended after a Ukrainian drone strike damaged port infrastructure, forcing the local refinery to halt operations, Reuters reported, citing industry sources and ship-tracking data on November 5.

The attack, carried out on November 2, ignited a fire and damaged at least one vessel, Ukraine’s defense forces said. Tuapse is one of Russia’s key oil export hubs on the Black Sea, and the refinery—controlled by Rosneft—exports most of its production and is the only oil refinery Russia has on the Black Sea coast.

Regional officials confirmed the fire, though Rosneft and Russia’s port agency have not commented. Three tankers loading naphtha, diesel, and fuel oil were moored at the port during the strike but have since been moved offshore, according to LSEG data, Reuters wrote.

The Tuapse refinery, with a capacity of 240,000 barrels per day, mainly supplies China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Türkiye. The refinery had also been targeted by drones several times before.

Previously, it was reported that Russia’s seaborne crude shipments have dropped sharply, marking the largest decline since January 2024, as the latest round of US sanctions led key buyers, including China, India, and Türkiye, to pause purchases of Russian oil.

Chinese refiners were cutting back on Russian crude purchases after Washington and its allies expanded sanctions to include Moscow’s largest oil producers and some of their trading partners.

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