Ukraine’s Drones Strike Again, Setting Russian Oil Refinery in Tuapse on Fire

A large-scale fire broke out at the Tuapse oil refinery on Russia’s Black Sea coast following a reported Ukrainian drone attack overnight on April 19–20.

According to Astra on April 20, citing analysis of photos and videos from the scene, multiple fuel storage tanks caught fire in the refinery’s tank farm after what was described as a mass drone strike.

The outlet reported that the fire spread across a significant portion of the facility, with up to ten separate storage reservoirs affected in the port-side section of the site.

Regional authorities also confirmed the incident. Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev stated that “a fire broke out in the seaport,” adding that debris from drones damaged buildings across the city, including civilian infrastructure.

According to Astra, visual evidence indicates several ignition points within the tank farm, suggesting multiple impacts. Footage shared by local residents shows explosions, air defense activity, and a large column of smoke rising above the refinery. Separate reports indicate casualties, with one person killed and another injured.

The Tuapse refinery, operated by Rosneft, is one of the company’s most technologically advanced facilities. It has an annual processing capacity of up to 12 million tons of oil and a refining depth of around 98%.

The site produces diesel fuel meeting Euro-5 standards, fuel oil, vacuum gasoil, and aviation fuel. Its storage infrastructure includes dozens of vertical steel tanks with a combined capacity exceeding 1.5 million cubic meters.

The Tuapse refinery and its associated marine terminal have been repeatedly targeted since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to prior reports cited by Ukrainian and independent monitoring sources, the facility has been struck at least nine times since 2022, including attacks in 2025 and earlier this year.

Russian authorities stated that 112 drones were intercepted overnight, without disclosing how many reached their targets. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the latest strike.

The strike follows a similar attack on April 16, when drones hit the refinery’s primary oil processing unit ELOU-AVT-12 and fuel storage tanks. According to previous reporting, that fire burned for more than 42 hours before being extinguished.

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