A fire caused by a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Black Sea Tuapse oil refinery has been put out, local officials said on Monday.
According to local media sources citing Russian officials, debris from the drone strike started the fire, the third such attack this year, as Ukraine ramps up hits on Russia energy infrastructure.
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The refinery, sitting less than 250km from Crimea, was also attacked in February 2023.
Communicating via the Telegram messaging service, the regional administration reported there were no casualties.
However, it is still not clear where the refinery, entirely owned by Rosneft and with a processing capacity of 240,000 barrels per day (bpd), was operational.
The extent of the damage was also not clear.
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By GlobalDataLocal media reports said that Russia’s local air defence systems had destroyed 75 drones launched by Ukraine over the weekend.
Ukrainian officials have so far made no comment on the drone attack on the Rosneft facility or the subsequent fire.
In March, Offshore Technology reported that the country plans to defend its oil and gas facilities with missile systems.
Artyom Verkhov, director of the Energy Ministry’s Department for Gas Industry Development, said: “We are jointly working, including with colleagues from the Russian National Guard, to cover objects, on installing, accordingly, protection systems such as Pantsir,” as reported by Reuters.
Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries to stop the country’s army from advancing and to weaken its military.
In late June, Offshore Technology reported that Russia’s oil and gas revenues for that month were set to increase by more than 50% year-on-year, reaching $9.4bn (Rbs821.74bn), according to official figures.
The rebound comes despite a reduction in refinery subsidies.
While western sanctions aimed at its energy sector continue, the redirection of oil exports to China and India has ensured Russia has been able to maintain revenues and direct funding to the war effort, with its invasion of Ukraine now lasting well over two years.
