Novorossiysk
According to the Russian Telegram channel Astra, Novorossiysk residents reported 33 drones and more than 35 explosions. Novorossiysk is situated about 330 km away from the frontline.
The regional governor officially described these early morning incidents as an “unsuccessful Ukrainian Armed Forces attack,” claiming that 10 drones were shot down by air defenses.
“As a result of the crash of the [UAVs] there were localized fires, which are now being extinguished. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties,” Governor of Krasnodar Krai Venyamin Kondratyev claimed.
Several clips from Novorossiysk published on social media feature Ukrainian Liutyi long-range suicide drones, the work horses of the Ukrainian security agencies, which are usually behind the deep rear attacks on the Russian territory.
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1791406154888716613/
Additionally, Russian military bloggers confirmed strikes, and residents noted that the port lost power overnight.
Referring to its sources in a later update, Astra said in Novorossiysk, the drones targeted at least two oil depots and two oil terminals during the nighttime assault. The affected sites included the “Novorossiysk Fuel Oil Terminal” and the “Importpishcheprom” terminal, where drones struck two fuel tanks. Additionally, the attack hit Gazprom’s oil depot in Kirillovka village and Transneft’s “Grushovaya Balka” oil depot. No casualties were reported.
NASA FIRMS map tracking wildfires showed three locations with high temperature anomalies.
Tuapse
On the morning of 17 May, a drone attack ignited a fire at the oil refinery in Tuapse, some 430 km from the front. Videos of the incident appeared on social media and were later officially confirmed by the so-called operational headquarters of Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
Last night, Ukrainian drones attacked two oil facilities in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea coast.
One was an oil refinery in Tuapse (clips 1-3), and another one was a fuel depot in Novorossiysk (clip 4).
📹https://t.co/u8vmoERGul, https://t.co/BdCru7rjoY pic.twitter.com/PI1ubFVzn6— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) May 17, 2024
The Krasnodar Krai’s operational HQ said two drones targeted “civilian infrastructure” and an alleged crash of one of those caused fire, causing no casualties.
Rosneft’s oil refinery in Tuapse, one of Russia’s ten largest, was previously targeted by drones in January, when they damaged the rectification column of the facility halting the production of oil products, and resumed operations only three months later, in late April.
Read also:
- Russia’s Black Sea port oil refinery engulfed in flames after another drone raid
- Ukraine’s Military Intelligence targets Russian fuel base in Rostov Oblast overnight
- Media: Fuel train derailed after drone attack in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast