Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) struck Russian warships, air defense assets, and the Sheskharis oil terminal at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk overnight on March 1-2, triggering a fire that burned through the night and forcing the terminal to halt loadings.
The SBU’s Alpha Special Operations Center carried out the strike with Ukraine’s Border Guard Service, military intelligence (HUR), Unmanned Systems Forces, and Special Operations Forces.
SBU sources said drones damaged six of seven oil-loading berths at the Sheskharis terminal, a 30N6E2 guidance radar from an S-300PMU-2 Favorit long-range air defense system, and a Pantsir-S2 short-range air defense system. Multiple warships at the port were also hit.
A warmer than usual night in Russia’s Novorossiysk as an oil refinery is currently burning after locals reported several drone strikes. pic.twitter.com/fcG6D2iiWC
— SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) March 1, 2026
Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed strikes on both the terminal and the Novorossiysk naval base, reporting damage to oil-loading piers and an S-400 radar station.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 172 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 67 over the Black Sea and 66 over Krasnodar region. Novorossiysk Mayor Andrey Kravchenko reported damage to 20 buildings and five civilian injuries but did not acknowledge military losses. The strike disrupted flights across southern Russia.
⚡️ The Defense Forces of #Ukraine struck the Sheskharis oil terminal and the Novorossiysk naval base in #Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
Preliminarily, hits have been confirmed on the terminal’s oil loading racks and on a radar…
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) March 2, 2026
Sheskharis, operated by state pipeline company Transneft, is one of the largest crude oil export facilities in southern Russia. Trade sources told Reuters the terminal suspended operations following the attack, taking an estimated 500,000 barrels per day of loading capacity offline.
Novorossiysk has served as the primary anchorage for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since Ukrainian strikes forced the fleet from occupied Sevastopol.
The SBU previously struck the same terminal in November 2025, damaging loading infrastructure, air defense systems, and a Russian landing ship.
Following that attack, Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington, Olha Stefanishyna, said the U.S. State Department formally protested over American economic interests in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a pipeline venture that includes Chevron and ExxonMobil.
