Residents living near the Tuapse oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region are being evacuated after a significant fire erupted due to a drone strike. The governor of Krasnodar, Veniamin Kondratiev, confirmed the situation, stating that 164 personnel and 46 units of equipment are currently engaged in firefighting efforts.
The drone attack occurred overnight on April 28, marking the third such incident at the Tuapse refinery within a month, as indicated by eyewitness video geolocation and data from NASA’s FIRMS service. According to the Krasnodar operational headquarters, the fire ignited following the “fall of drone debris” on the refinery premises, although there have been no reported injuries.
A Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel, Exilenova+, reported that one or more tanks involved in the refinery’s technological processes caught fire as a result of the latest attack. The Ukrainian government has not yet commented on the incident.
Previous attacks on the refinery have resulted in damage to over half of the fuel storage tanks, although the processing facilities themselves have remained unharmed. A prolonged fire has led to oil spills into the sea, and residents have experienced instances of “oil rain” in the city.
Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, various sites across Russia have been targeted by aerial strikes. Oil refineries have frequently been the focus of attacks in 2024 and 2025, alongside Russian facilities located in occupied territories of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff has confirmed many of these strikes, asserting that the Ukrainian defense forces are systematically taking measures to diminish the combat capabilities of Russian occupying forces and to compel Russia to cease its armed aggression against Ukraine.
A fire at the Tuapse oil refinery in Russia, triggered by a drone attack, has led to the evacuation of nearby residents. This incident marks the third attack on the facility in a month, raising concerns over ongoing aerial strikes on Russian oil infrastructure amidst the conflict with Ukraine.