Ukrainian drone strike ignites fire at major Russian oil refinery

Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery in the city of Tuapse in the Krasnodar Krai in southern Russia last night, as reported by the media on Monday morning. A fire broke out in the refinery, owned by the Rosneft corporation, but was reportedly extinguished.

According to the residents of Tuapse, the explosions at the petrochemical plant could be heard from 10:30 p.m. ET; there were at least five powerful blasts.

Rosneft's refinery is among the ten largest in Russia and is the only such facility on the Black Sea coast.

It is also one of the oldest refineries in Russia (it was launched in 1929). Annually, it processes 13 million tonnes (14 million US tons) of crude oil. Its products are exported through the Tuapse marine fuel terminal.

Local authorities reported that during the night from Sunday to Monday, the air defense system shot down eight unmanned aerial vehicles around Tuapse; there were no casualties or material losses.