Drone Attack On Russia’s Tuapse Oil Refinery Unleashes Fire So Large It Can Be Seen From Space

Russia and Ukraine have continued trading blows on key oil and energy sites, with the latest being a drone attack targeting Russia’s Tuapse Oil refinery, which unleashed a fire so large it can be picked up by satellites in space.

The refinery is owned by Rosneft and has suffered major attack before, in a March 2025 Ukrainian operation. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency, after schools and residential buildings suffered damage, and all classes have been canceled.

According to the Amsterdam-based Moscow Times, “NASA satellite imagery on Thursday showed a plume of smoke extending around 200 kilometers (125 miles) into the Black Sea from Tuapse, which is located 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of the resort city of Sochi.”

Krasnodar region Governor Venyamin Kondratyev confirmed that a woman and a teenage girl were killed in the attack on the northeastern Black Sea port town, with several more injured.

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the military had downed 207 drones overnight across multiple regions – listing off Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk and the Krasnodar region, and the Black and Azov seas.

This is a somewhat ‘normal’ night in the now more than 4-year long brutal war. These daily and nightly cross-border attacks have largely slipped from mainstream headline coverage, however, given their frequency – to the point of being ‘routine’ (a grim reality).

Often even when refineries or major infrastructure is hit in either country, the event barely gets coverage in Western media at this point.

The ongoing Russian aerial assault of Ukraine continues to be more deadly. Ukrainian officials say that overnight attacks there killed 14 people in the capital area as well as Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Newer footage recorded by Russian civilians shows the size of the fires at the Rosneft Tuapse oil refinery. pic.twitter.com/dmhyvbVQZ4

— Combat Footage (@Comba8Footage) April 16, 2026

At least 700 drones and missiles were launched by Moscow forces overnight, which is a significant and high figure, even after all these years of aerial bombardment.

Currently the globe’s attention is largely focused on the Iran war and the Hormuz Strait blockade, and with that efforts to reach a political and peace settlement in Ukraine have faded as well.