Fuel exports from the Black Sea port of Tuapse in Russia have been halted after Ukrainian drone strikes.
Two industry insiders who spoke to Reuters and data from LSEG ship tracking revealed the disruption following the drone attacks on November 2 targeted the site.
Ukraine announced on Sunday that its drones hit Tuapse—one of Russia’s key oil ports on the Black Sea—igniting a fire and damaging at least one vessel. The attack was part of Kyiv’s broader campaign to weaken Russia’s wartime economy by striking its energy infrastructure.
Local authorities confirmed that the strike sparked a fire at the port.
Ukraine has for several months been striking Russian oil refineries, depots, and pipelines, while Ukrainian energy infrastructure has also been the target of Russian strikes in a war that is approaching its fourth year.
The sources said the Rosneft-controlled refinery, which exports most of its production, halted processing the following day because of the damage to port infrastructure.
Tuapse had been expected to boost oil products exports in November before the attack. According to LSEG data, three tankers were docked at the port during the attack to load naphtha, diesel, and fuel oil.
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Ukrainian drone attacks target Russian port
As of Wednesday, all the vessels were moved away from the berths and anchored near the port, the data showed. Tuapse is home to one of Russia’s largest Black Sea oil export terminals, which handles several million tons of crude and oil products annually, boasting a processing capacity of 240,000 barrels of oil per day.
The refinery, which has also been targeted by drones on several occasions, produces naphtha, fuel oil, vacuum gas oil, and high-sulfur diesel, primarily supplying China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Turkey. Its proximity to Ukraine places it well within range of Ukrainian strikes.
In the Sunday attack, eyewitness accounts showed fire erupting at the seaport after the reported drone strike, with Russian independent outlet Astra pinpointing at least three fires – one at the oil loading berth near the Southern Mole and another at the deep-water berthing complex of RN-Sea Terminal Tuapse LLC.
Authorities confirmed the attack but attributed it to a “drone crash,” noting that “damage to port infrastructure has been recorded.”
“In the port of Tuapse, fragments of drones fell on an oil tanker. The deck superstructure was damaged. The tanker’s crew was evacuated. A fire broke out on the vessel,” authorities said in a statement.
“The terminal’s buildings and infrastructure were also damaged. In addition, the glass in the railway station building was damaged. According to preliminary information, there are no injuries,” the statement adds.
Later, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), while confirming the strike, told the Kyiv Post that its Alpha Special Operations Center, in cooperation with other military branches, was responsible for the attack that it said “hit a tanker and the loading infrastructure of the oil terminal of the port of Tuapse.”
According to the SBU, there were five drone hits recorded, setting a tanker on fire and disabling at least four oil tanker standers that load and unload tankers were disabled. Port buildings were also reportedly damaged.
Latest on the Russia-Ukraine war
Intense fighting continues across several fronts. In the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a crucial transport and logistics hub, Russian and Ukrainian forces are battling amid the city’s ruins. Ukraine’s military reports heavy clashes in areas vital to maintaining its front-line supply routes.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had visited troops near Dobropillia, where Ukrainian forces are conducting counteroffensive operations against Russian troops.
Meanwhile, Russia launched a large-scale overnight drone assault on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, targeting civilian energy and port infrastructure. According to the regional governor, fires were brought under control, and no casualties were reported.
Ukraine’s armed forces stated that a drone strike hit an oil refinery in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, east of Moscow, damaging the Lukoil facility in Kstovo, which supports Russian military logistics.
The full extent of the damage remains unclear. Additionally, Ukrainian drones reportedly inflicted “significant damage” on a petrochemical plant in Bashkortostan, central Russia. While regional officials confirmed an attack on the Sterlitamak facility, they noted that operations were continuing as normal.
In response to ongoing Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, President Vladimir Putin has enacted legislation authorizing military reservists to guard oil refineries, following reports of fuel shortages in several Russian regions.
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