Oil refinery, port terminal struck in Krasnodar Krai amid joint deep strike on southern Russia, Ukraine says
Drone attacks targeted several regions of Russia overnight on Feb. 17, including the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, where a large fire broke out following reported strikes, according to Ukraine's General Staff, local authorities, and social media.
In a productive night for Ukraine's long-running deep strike campaign, the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) Alpha special forces unit also struck the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in the same region, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.
The Ilsky refinery, which supplies fuel to Russian troops, processes 6.42 million tons of oil annually, making it one of the largest in southern Russia. Due to its proximity to Black Sea ports, its products are widely used to support Russian military logistics.
Pro-Russian Telegram channels with alleged ties to security services claimed that Krasnodar Krai had been under attack by Ukrainian drones since the evening. Local air defense systems shot down more than 20 drones over the region, though the Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify these claims.
Residents reported hearing more than 10 explosions near the settlement of Ilsky. Shortly afterward, a major fire erupted at the local oil refinery. The Krasnodar Krai operational headquarters confirmed that the region had been attacked but did not disclose details regarding damage or the facilities affected.
According to the General Staff, a full assessment of the damage to the facility is still being carried out.
At the Tamanneftogaz facility, itself with a reserve capacity of over a million cubic meters of petroleum products, the SBU Alpha strike was the second successful attack on the terminal in less than a month.
The previous strike on Jan. 22, on pipes near the docks and reserve storage buildings, was assessed to have caused damage worth over $50 million.
"At night, local residents wrote on social networks about a series of explosions," the SBU source said.
"As a result of the drone attack, a fire was recorded at the oil transfer complex."
Krasnodar Krai, a strategic region in southwestern Russia on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
The Ilsky refinery is located inland, around 35 kilometers (22 miles) southwest of the regional capital of Krasnodar, while the Tamanneftegaz terminal is just across the Kerch Strait from the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Amid the reported aerial threat, airports in Krasnodar, Sochi, and Gelendzhik suspended operations for at least four hours. Air raid sirens were also activated in Novorossiysk and Slavyansk-na-Kuban.
At the same time, drones reportedly targeted the Republic of Tatarstan, located in central European Russia's Volga-Ural region. Around 3 a.m. local time, explosions were heard on the outskirts of Kazan and in Nizhnekamsk.
Witnesses reported hearing the sounds of blasts, after which electricity supply was disrupted in one district of Kazan. The city is located roughly 1,300–1,400 kilometers (800-870 miles) from the Russia‑Ukraine boder.
Airports in Kazan and Nizhnekamsk temporarily halted arrivals and departures. Russian authorities had not released official information on the aftermath of the strikes in Tatarstan.
