Dec 31 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian drone attack damaged port infrastructure and a gas pipeline in a residential area in Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse, the regional administration said on Wednesday, adding no injuries were reported.
Emergency crews were dispatched to repair the damage, the operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said on the Telegram messaging app. The port’s berth had been damaged, it added.
SHOT, a Telegram news channel with sources in Russia’s security services, said a series of explosions was heard over Tuapse late on Tuesday and that residents in one district reported a fire.
Several Ukrainian media, including the RBC-Ukraine media outlet, posted photos on Telegram appearing to show a large fire burning in the distance at night, with a communications mast silhouetted in the foreground.
There was no immediate official comment from Ukraine about the attack. Reuters could not independently verify the report or the extent of the damage.
Tuapse is one of Russia’s key Black Sea outlets for oil products, anchored by Rosneft’s export-oriented Tuapse refinery, which has capacity to process about 240,000 barrels per day and supplies products such as naphtha, fuel oil and diesel.
The port and the refinery have been hit repeatedly by Ukrainian drone attacks during the war that Russia launched nearly four years ago, with past strikes reported to have sparked fires and at times disrupted operations.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Chris Reese and Lincoln Feast.)
Comments