Russian emergency services fully extinguished a massive fire at the Tuapse oil refinery and export terminal on April 19, four days after a Ukrainian drone attack sparked the blaze.

The strike occurred overnight on April 16 in the Black Sea port city of Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai. Ukrainian drones targeted fuel storage tanks at the facility, owned by state giant Rosneft, causing multiple explosions and igniting at least three tanks. Fires spread to the adjacent oil loading pier, tank farm, and an on-site power plant, with smoke plumes stretching over 200 kilometers across the Black Sea. NASA satellite imagery captured the blaze, visible even from space.

Ukraine's General Staff confirmed the operation as successful in its daily report, part of a broader campaign targeting Russian energy infrastructure to disrupt war funding. The Tuapse complex processes up to 12 million tons of crude oil annually and handles about 10% of Russia's petroleum product exports, including fuels critical for Moscow's military.

Local authorities declared a state of emergency in the Tuapse district. Schools closed for the day, and Krasnodar Airport imposed temporary flight restrictions due to ongoing drone activity. Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported drone debris striking a seaport enterprise and residential buildings, killing two children aged 5 and 14, injuring two adults, and damaging homes. Officials attributed the casualties to falling debris rather than the refinery fire itself.

The fire raged uncontrolled for days, with additional explosions reported on April 17 as a fourth tank ignited. Eyewitness videos showed thick black smoke billowing over the city, and Russian media described the site as resembling a "volcano." Firefighting efforts involved hundreds of personnel, but the blaze persisted until containment on April 19.

This marks at least the ninth Ukrainian strike on the Tuapse facility since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A previous major attack in March 2025 forced prolonged shutdowns. Such operations have repeatedly halted production and exports at the site, contributing to volatility in Russia's oil sector amid Western sanctions.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have downed 207 Ukrainian drones that night across multiple regions. In retaliation, Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least 14 people in Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.