Ukraine's Defense Forces struck the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, and destroyed a Be-12 anti-submarine aircraft in occupied Crimea in a single overnight operation on 6 April, Ukraine's General Staff confirmed. OSINT channel CyberBoroshno identified three simultaneous hits at the terminal — including both main loading berths and the pipeline control infrastructure between them — that analysts say have halted export loading entirely. Later footage showed at least four distinct separate fires at the facility.
Strike confirmed, three targets identified
Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ first reported the attack at 22:15 on 5 April. The strike lasted several hours, with footage circulating on Telegram showing fires at the terminal and Russian air defenses attempting to intercept drones.
NASA's FIRMS satellite monitoring detected an abnormal heat signature at 01:57. Russian Telegram channel Astra confirmed the terminal was struck, identifying the Sheskharis transshipment complex — part of the Chornomortransneft structure under Transneft — as the target.
Shortly after midnight, OSINT channel CyberBoroshno analyzed available footage and identified three confirmed impact points:
- Berth 1, where the most intense fire broke out due to an oil spill.
- Berth 2.
- The SIKN metering and shutoff nodes — the pipeline control infrastructure that handles commercial oil accounting and distribution between the berths.
CyberBoroshno assessed that hitting both main berths and the SIKN simultaneously has effectively shut down loading operations. Every idle day at the terminal, the channel noted, costs Russia millions of dollars in lost oil export revenue.
Novorossiysk Mayor Andrii Kravchenko said drone debris struck an apartment building.
One of Russia's main Black Sea oil hubs
The Sheskharis transshipment complex is the largest oil loading terminal in southern Russia, serving as the Black Sea endpoint of Russia's trunk pipeline network. According to Ukraine's sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the facility handles 35–40 large tankers monthly — 3.5–4.5 mn tonnes of crude oil — accounting for up to 20% of Russia's seaborne oil exports.
The terminal has a designed throughput capacity of 75 mn tonnes per year and 10 berths with a total quay length of 2,593 m, according to EnergyBase data cited by Militarnyi.
The complex consists of two industrial sites — Sheskharis and Hrushova — located roughly 12 km apart and connected by a tunnel through the Markotkh Ridge.
Third strike on Sheskharis since November
Ukraine has struck Sheskharis repeatedly.
- A combined missile and drone strike in mid-November 2025 caused a two-day suspension of oil exports before operations resumed. Ukraine struck the terminal again in late November.
- The 1–2 March 2026 operation damaged six of seven oil-loading arms at Sheskharis alongside strikes on Russian warships and air defense systems in Novorossiysk port.
Be-12 anti-submarine aircraft destroyed in Crimea
Ukraine's General Staff also confirmed the destruction of a Be-12 "Chaika" anti-submarine amphibious aircraft in the Kacha area of occupied Crimea in the same overnight operation.
The same night, Ukraine's drone forces hit a Russian navy frigate in Novorossiysk.
The Be-12 is a Soviet-era maritime patrol aircraft used to detect submarines. Ukraine has been systematically eliminating Russia's fleet of them, destroying two at Kacha on 21 September 2025 — the first such strikes in combat history — and hitting two more at the Yevpatoriia Aircraft Repair Plant in February 2026.
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