Drones Attack Russian Oil Refineries Near Major Oil Port

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Drones attacked two oil refineries just 40-50 miles (65-80 km) east of Russia’s biggest oil export terminals on Wednesday, sparking a fire at one and causing no damage to the other, according to Russian officials.

At around 3 a.m., a drone struck the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, causing a fire that was later extinguished, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.

The Afipsky refinery lies 50 miles east of the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, one of Russia’s most important oil export gateways. Novorossiisk, together with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, bring about 1.5% of global oil to market.

Another drone crashed into the Ilsky refinery, which lies around 40 miles east of Novorossiisk, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported, citing local officials.

There was no immediate information on who launched the drone but Russia has accused Ukraine of increased attacks on targets inside the country, including on Moscow on Tuesday.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.