Drones struck port infrastructure in Taganrog, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, during the night of 29-30 May, setting a tanker and a fuel storage tank on fire, while an oil depot in Krasnodar Krai was also hit, monitoring channels and regional authorities reported.
Rostov Oblast Governor Yuriy Slyusar said on his Telegram channel that the fire involved a tanker, a fuel-storage tank, and an administrative building at the port. He added that the blaze was later extinguished, with no fuel leak reported, and that two people were injured in the attack. Taganrog's mayor, Svetlana Kambulova, said the drones struck loading infrastructure at the pier.
Taganrog is a port city in southwestern Russia, located in Rostov Oblast on the north shore of Taganrog Bay (Sea of Azov), about 67 km west of Rostov-on-Don and near the Ukrainian border. Ukraine has been regularly striking Taganrog, with attacks intensifying in 2025–2026:
Air defenses active across the obla
Slyusar reported that Russian air defenses downed drones over Taganrog and in the Chertkovo, Matveyev Kurgan, and Neklinovsky districts of the oblast. He said almost 50 drones were downed across the region, which borders Ukraine's Donbas. Taganrog, a port city of about 240,000 on the Sea of Azov, has been under a local state of emergency since 27 May, which the mayor said had been extended.
Oil depot struck in Armavir
A separate target overnight was an oil depot belonging to Yuzhnaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya in the city of Armavir, in Krasnodar Krai. Local authorities said a fire at the depot in the city's industrial zone had been brought under control and that there were no injuries; Armavir has a population of about 185,000. Ukrainian outlets characterized the burning vessel at Taganrog as a tanker linked to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, the network Moscow uses to move oil around sanctions, though that description has not been independently confirmed.
The port strikes preceded a separate claim later on 30 May, when Unmanned Systems Forces commander Major Robert "Madyar" Brovdi said his drones had also destroyed 2 Tu-142 maritime aircraft and an Iskander missile system at the Taganrog military airfield.
Background
Ukraine's Defense Forces have repeatedly targeted military sites and infrastructure in Rostov Oblast and Krasnodar Krai through Russia's war on Ukraine. On the night of 8 March, drones hit the "Armavir" linear production and dispatch station in Krasnodar Krai, igniting a large fire at the facility. On 27 May, drones struck the 325th Aviation Repair Plant in Taganrog, a site placed under sanctions by the European Union, the United States, and Ukraine over Russia's invasion. The city also hosts the Beriev aircraft plant, a long-standing focus of Ukrainian deep-strike operations, where a Ukrainian attack in November 2025 destroyed Russia's sole remaining A-60 laser aircraft.
