Ukrainian Drones Hit Tuapse Port for the Fourth Time

May 1, 2026

A fire broke out at a marine terminal in the Black Sea port of Tuapse after it came under a fresh Ukrainian drone attack, regional emergency officials said Friday, though media reports suggested the damage may also extend to an oil refinery that has been repeatedly struck over the past two weeks. 

The Krasnodar region’s emergency response center said more than 100 personnel were deployed to battle a blaze at the marine terminal. The region’s governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, did not immediately comment on the attack.

The independent broadcaster RTVI reported that the Rosneft-operated oil refinery in Tuapse was engulfed in flames on Friday morning, adding that its journalists did not see a fire at the marine terminal that authorities said was struck. The news outlet also reported a townwide power outage.

Officials have not commented on the reported oil refinery fire.

Tuapse has been under a state of emergency since Tuesday, when ​a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a huge fire at the oil refinery, prompting an evacuation of nearby residents and releasing slicks of oil into the waters off the coast.

That fire was put out on Thursday, authorities said.

The Rosneft-operated refinery had stopped operations after it was first attacked on April 16, industry sources told Reuters. That blaze took four days to extinguish.

Russia’s consumer safety watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has advised residents in Tuapse to limit time outdoors, keep windows closed and wear a mask when going outside after repeated drone attacks due to elevated benzene levels in the air.

Benzene is a highly toxic chemical recognized as a human carcinogen.

Municipal authorities have also canceled all public events between May 1 and 11, a period during which Russians celebrate Labor Day and Victory Day.

President Vladimir Putin, after being briefed by Governor Kondratyev, said earlier this week that there did not “seem to be any dangers and people are handling the challenges they face” amid the attacks on Tuapse.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that it intercepted 141 Ukrainian drones between Thursday night and Friday morning. The drones were downed in eight Russian regions, including Krasnodar, as well as in annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.

In attacks on the southwestern Belgorod region, two teenagers riding a motorcycle were killed, regional authorities said early Friday.

Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure over the past two months in a bid to deprive the Kremlin of energy windfalls amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Russia has accused Ukraine of exacerbating the global energy crisis with its continued attacks on oil export hubs.

Read more about: Ukraine war , Drones , Krasnodar

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