Ukraine confirms 3rd devastating drone strike on Russia's Tuapse oil refinery

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in the southern Russian city of Tuapse in the Krasnodar Krai overnight yet again, the General Staff said on April 28, further prolonging a devastating fire that has been raging for a second week.

Tuapse has faced intensified strikes over the past weeks, including strikes on the Tuapse oil refinery on April 20 and April 16, leaving multi-day fires burning in the Russian town.

"This facility is involved in supplying the Russian Federation's occupation army on Ukrainian territory," the General Staff said in its Facebook statement, adding that the attack caused a fire and that the extent of the damage is being assessed.

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on April 29 that HUR, alongside the 1st Separate Center and the 413th "Raid" Regiment, in coordination with Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), struck the refinery.

After the April 20 strike, 24 storage tanks were destroyed, and four more were damaged, according to the General Staff. A fire ignited by the initial April 16 attack had been contained, but a second strike reignited it and significantly worsened the situation, with flames burning continuously since then.

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Videos shared by local residents on social media showed a large plume of smoke rising above the refinery, along with rainfall that left a black film on surfaces and dark puddles in its wake.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the Krasnodar Krai, cited the head of the Tuapse District as saying that an evacuation is underway for local residents living near the oil refinery.  

Local authorities did not acknowledge the environmental impact until April 23, saying large amounts of combustion byproducts had been released into the atmosphere and urging residents to limit time outdoors.

Following the April 28 attack, the Krasnodar Krai Emergency Response Headquarters said a fire broke out at the refinery after what it described as the "fall of drone debris."

The headquarters said there were no casualties.

Russia's air defenses intercepted 186 Ukrainian drones over several southern Russian regions and occupied Crimea, Russia's Defense Ministry said on April 28.

The General Staff reported that Ukrainian long-range drones have struck multiple Russian military facilities, including the radar station of the Ai-Petri radio engineering battalion in occupied Crimea and command posts in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts.

The claims could not be immediately verified by the Kyiv Independent.

Tuapse is located about 233 kilometers (145 miles) from Ukraine, at the southeastern coast of occupied Crimea, and approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory near the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Ukraine regularly strikes military infrastructure deep inside Russia and the occupied territories in an effort to diminish Moscow's capacity to continue waging war on Ukraine.

Kyiv considers energy facilities to be valid military targets, as the energy sites provide fuel and funding for the Kremlin's war machine.

On April 26, an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl and several targets inside Russian-occupied territories were struck by Ukrainian drones overnight, Ukraine's General Staff confirmed.

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