The Tuapse oil refinery, located on the Black Sea coast and owned by Rosneft, has completely suspended its crude oil processing operations following a drone attack on April 16. This refinery is the sole oil processing facility in Russia's Black Sea region, with an annual designed processing capacity of 12 million tons.
According to informed sources, the attack on April 16 caused damage to key equipment at the refinery. A fire burned for three days, requiring more than 150 firefighters and nearly 50 pieces of equipment to extinguish the blaze. Just as the fire was brought under control on April 19, Ukrainian forces launched a second assault on the refinery and the nearby port in the early hours of April 20. This subsequent attack resulted in one fatality, one injury, and ignited another major fire in the oil storage area. Analysis indicates that over ten separate fire points appeared in the storage tank zone following this latest strike.
The Tuapse refinery has previously been a primary target for Ukrainian forces. Prior to the first attack on April 16, the facility had already been targeted multiple times in March, November, and December 2025. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that both recent strikes were conducted jointly by unmanned systems units, special operations forces, and military intelligence. Ukrainian officials stated that strikes on Russian oil infrastructure in March alone caused approximately $2.3 billion in lost oil revenue for Moscow.
Production at the Tuapse refinery is now at a complete standstill. While Russia had previously diverted some crude oil shipments to Tuapse after the nearby Novorossiysk port was damaged in an attack, the refinery's own shutdown places further strain on Russia's oil export capabilities. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it has shot down a significant number of Ukrainian drones in the relevant area.
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