Firefighters extinguish blaze at Russian oil terminal after drone strikes sparked days-long fire

Firefighters have contained and extinguished the open blaze at the marine terminal in Tuapse, the operational headquarters of Krasnodar Krai announced, adding that 276 personnel and 77 pieces of equipment remain on scene as full-suppression work continues.

The oil terminal at the port of Tuapse caught fire in the early hours of April 20 after a Ukrainian drone strike. The intense blaze sharply worsened air quality across the city, and “oil rain” fell on residents. Local residents reported that authorities had said almost nothing about the situation and had not canceled classes at schools, the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo wrote.

Only on the third day did the headquarters acknowledge that combustion byproducts were entering Tuapse’s air — byproducts that on April 22 fell with the rain, leaving a black residue on surfaces across the city. Residents of some neighborhoods were advised to limit time outdoors and keep their windows closed.

Drones struck the port of Tuapse twice in the second half of April. The port is home to an oil refinery that forms a single production complex with the marine terminal. After a drone attack in the early hours of April 16, the terminal also caught fire; that blaze was not fully extinguished until the afternoon of April 20. The strikes sent petroleum products into the sea and the Tuapse River.

On April 20, the headquarters announced that 750 meters (2,461 feet) of boom barriers and special oil-collection devices had been installed on the river. By April 24, after the second fire, local residents were posting on social media that the protective structures were “about to give way,” saying that four people were removing petroleum products with shovels and that there was “no help from the administration.”