Ukrainian Drones Damage, Set Fire To One Of Russia’s Biggest Oil Terminals On Black Sea

Another Ukrainian drone attack targeting Russia’s oil export infrastructure has occurred Sunday, which saw one of Russia’s main Black Sea oil ports set ablaze.

A tanker and another ship was also set ablaze at Tuapse, one of the biggest oil terminals on the Black Sea. Russian emergency services in the region said, “As a result of the drone attack on the port of Tuapse on the night of November 2, two foreign civilian ships were damaged.”

“The buildings and infrastructure of the terminal” had sustained damage, it said – though noted there were no casualties among the crews of the ships and that all fires had been extinguished.

The Tuapse Black Sea oil terminal and an oil refinery is controlled by Russia’s biggest oil company Rosneft – which has been targeted by the newest US Treasury sanctions last month.

According to Reuters, “The export-oriented Tuapse plant, which has a processing capacity of 240,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), produces naphtha, fuel oil, vacuum gasoil and high-sulphur diesel. It mainly supplies China, Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey.”

The Russian defense ministry said that more broadly the country’s anti-air defenses were able to intercept a little over 280 drones during the assault on various regions of Russia.

Ukraine’s General Staff boasted that its drones landed five hits on the Tuapse port and oil export infrastructure. Ukrainian media has meanwhile hailed the recent attacks on Russian oil refineries and terminals as putting a sizeable dent in Moscow’s war funding:

Russia’s exports of refined fuels have dropped to levels unseen since the war began, as the country’s energy trade is hit by a combination of shutdowns at major refineries and escalating Western sanctions, according to a report by Bloomberg on Oct. 30.

Citing Vortexa Ltd. figures, the outlet reported that overall seaborne oil product shipments amounted to 1.89 million barrels a day in the first 26 days of October, marking the lowest volume recorded since early 2022.

Although diesel exports edged higher, weaker loadings of naphtha and fuel oil – particularly from the Baltic ports affected by strikes on the Ust-Luga terminal – pulled overall shipments down. Bad weather may also have slowed port activity.

The work of Russian air defense and the moment one of the drones hit the oil terminal in the port area of Tuapse. https://t.co/79usMmxoMv pic.twitter.com/iPWrCtB1cD

— Special Kherson Cat (@bayraktar_1love) November 1, 2025

Russia for its part has been punishing Ukraine in equal measure, with the month of October alone seeing hundreds of missile strikes, and over 5000 drones sent against Ukrainian cities their energy grids.