Explosion in Russian Black Sea port of Tuapse amid reported sea drone attack
Russia's port town of Tuapse on the Black Sea was rocked by explosions overnight on Nov. 10, as local Telegram channels reported an attack by Ukrainian sea drones.
Photos and videos uploaded by locals in the town and later published by major Telegram channel Astra show explosions and a resulting fire in the area of the town's port.
Tuapse is located in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, around 75 kilometers northwest of the major city of Sochi.
The coastal town is home to a major oil terminal and refinery, and has been the target of Ukrainian strikes as recently as Nov. 2, when fuel exports out of the port were halted by drone attacks, as reported at the time by Reuters.
Municipal administration head Sergey Boiko had earlier posted on his official Telegram channel about the threat of attack from both air and sea drones, but later redacted the latter from the message.
Later, the official Telegram channel of Krasnodar Krai confirmed the attack, claiming that four Ukrainian sea drones had been destroyed.
"One of the unmanned boats detonated near the shoreline," the message read. "The shock wave damaged the second-floor windows of a two-story house, as well as a garage and a boat shed."
At the time of publishing the Kyiv Independent is unable to verify the results of the attack. Kyiv is yet to comment officially on the operation.
Over 2025, Ukraine has escalated attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, in particular oil refineries, identified as a vulnerable target for asymmetric strikes as the fighting along the front line continues.
Meanwhile, with the continuing advancement of sea drone technology, first deployed in 2022, Kyiv has been able to target Russian military and energy assets on the Black Sea at increasing range and effectiveness.
