Ukraine Strikes Russia’s Largest Black Sea Oil Terminal, Sparking Fire And Damaging Tanker

Ukraine said it struck one of Russia’s largest oil terminals on the Black Sea overnight, targeting key energy infrastructure linked to Russian oil exports and military logistics.

Ukraine’s General Staff said the Sheskharis oil terminal near Novorossiysk and the nearby Grushova oil depot were hit in drone strikes that caused fires at both facilities.

The military also claimed damage to the tanker Chrysalis in the Black Sea, describing the vessel as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to transport oil exports.

The attacks are part of Ukraine’s growing campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, including refineries, storage depots and export terminals. Kyiv says the strikes are aimed at reducing Russia’s oil revenues used to finance the war.

Sheskharis is one of Russia’s biggest oil terminals on the Black Sea and is part of the Transneft pipeline system. Ukraine said the terminal can handle up to 75 million tonnes of oil annually and has storage capacity of around 1.28 million cubic metres.

Ukraine described the nearby Grushova depot as a major oil storage and transshipment facility connected to the Sheskharis complex, with storage capacity estimated at 1.2 million to 1.4 million cubic metres.

Russian regional authorities said falling drone debris caused a fire at an oil depot in Novorossiysk and damaged a residential building, injuring two people. Officials also confirmed debris fell near a local oil terminal.

Russia’s pipeline operator Transneft, which owns the facilities, did not comment.

Novorossiysk is one of Russia’s most important Black Sea oil export hubs and plays a major role in global crude shipments from the region.

Ukraine’s drone force commander Robert Brovdi said Ukrainian drones attacked 13 major Russian oil facilities during the first 23 days of May.

Earlier this week, he said six of Russia’s 10 largest oil refineries had stopped processing crude after recent attacks, although Reuters could not independently verify the claim.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian drones struck the Metafrax Chemicals plant in Russia’s Perm region, more than 1,500 km from Moscow. He said the facility stopped operating after the attack.

Metafrax is one of Russia’s largest methanol producers and supplies products used in industrial and defence manufacturing.

Ukraine also said it struck Russian communication facilities in occupied parts of Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions, as well as an ammunition depot in Donetsk region.

Brovdi separately said Ukrainian drones targeted a Russian frigate and a hovercraft missile boat near the Novorossiysk naval base, but the level of damage was unclear.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces destroyed 800 Ukrainian drones over the previous 24 hours.

Russia and Ukraine also continued attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure. Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz said Russian strikes damaged oil and gas facilities in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions for more than 24 hours.

References: Reuters, moneycontrol