Massive blaze at russian oil terminal after fresh ukrainian drone strike

WEB DESK: A major fire broke out at Russia’s vital Sheskharis transshipment complex in the Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk following an overnight long-range drone strike by Ukrainian forces on Monday, local officials and open-source intelligence sources confirmed.

Residents of Novorossiysk, located in Russia’s Krasnodar region, reported hearing at least 50 explosions in the early hours of Monday before thick smoke began billowing from the facility, according to Nasha Niva.

Satellite data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) confirmed multiple severe heat signatures consistent with a major industrial fire at the site.

Strategic Infrastructure Targeted

The attack specifically targeted the Grushovaya industrial tank farm, which forms the core of the Sheskharis transshipment complex operated by Chernomortransneft, a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned pipeline operator Transneft.

Boasting a storage capacity of over 1.2 million cubic meters, Grushovaya is the largest oil storage facility in the Caucasus region.

The site serves as the critical endpoint for primary trunk oil pipelines in western Russia. Crude oil and petroleum products stored here are transferred via an intricate network of pipelines and tunnels directly to marine berths, where they are loaded onto international tankers.

Local operational headquarters in Krasnodar Krai acknowledged the blaze, stating that more than 130 firefighters and nearly 40 pieces of specialised equipment were deployed to tackle the inferno.

Russian authorities claimed there were no casualties, though they refrained from detailing the extent of the infrastructural damage.

Widening Asymmetric Campaign

The strike is part of an increasingly aggressive campaign by Kyiv utilising domestically produced long-range uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) to choke Moscow’s fuel infrastructure and undermine the economic drivers of its war effort.

By consistently targeting deep-tier logistics hubs, refineries, and maritime terminals, Ukraine aims to disrupt military supply lines as well as Russia’s lucrative Black Sea oil export capabilities.

Monitored data indicates that the Sheskharis complex has become a high-priority target, having faced previous drone incursions in March, April, and late May.

Monday’s strike coincided with a broader wave of overnight drone operations that local media reported also hit electrical substations in Russian-occupied Mariupol and separate logistics infrastructure in western Russia.