Ukrainian Drone Strike Damages Russian Oil Port and Foreign Vessels in Black Sea

A Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday morning damaged at least two foreign civilian vessels and the oil terminal infrastructure at Russia's key Black Sea port of Tuapse. The strike is part of Kyiv's effort to undermine Russia's war economy by targeting its energy sector.

An official from Ukraine's SBU domestic security service confirmed the operation, stating that five drone strikes hit an oil tanker, loading infrastructure, and nearby port buildings. The attack sparked a fire at the port, one of the biggest oil terminals on the Black Sea.

The emergency operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region confirmed two foreign civilian ships and the terminal's buildings and infrastructure sustained damage.

No casualties were reported among the crews, and all fires were extinguished. The Tuapse port is home to a Rosneft-controlled oil refinery, which has a processing capacity of 240,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and primarily exports to nations like China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Turkey.

Ukraine states these strikes are retaliation for Russia's continued attacks on its own power and heating infrastructure. Simultaneously, Russian authorities claimed their air defense units destroyed a total of 283 Ukrainian drones across various regions.