The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 102 Ukrainian drones. This included 51 drones over Crimea, 44 over Krasnodar, and six over Belgorod. Despite the high number of intercepted drones, significant damage was reported at key oil facilities. Videos circulating on social media depicted drones crashing into the Tuapse refinery, triggering massive fires. Tuapse, operated by Russian oil giant Rosneft, is a critical facility, being the company’s fourth-largest refinery.
Massive overnight Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Novorossiysk port and the northern Caucasus, as well we Sevastopol in Crimea. Russian officials say, as usual, that all the drones were shot down. Footage below from the successful defense of the Tuapse refinery, Rosneft’s… pic.twitter.com/bdBUSslpFF
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) May 17, 2024
In Novorossiysk, drones targeted fuel depots and infrastructure, causing fires at the Importpischeprom oil products terminal and the Sheskharis oil harbor. Although the port was temporarily shut down, oil loadings from Sheskharis and the fuel oil terminal later resumed. However, loadings from Importpischeprom remained suspended.
Further drone strikes were reported in the coastal city of Novorossiysk and surrounding areas, including a Gazprom oil depot in Kirilovka and a Transneft-owned oil depot in Grushovaya Balka. The assault extended to Sevastopol in Crimea, where local authorities admitted to power outages caused by drone strikes on the city’s power plant. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, stated that it might take a day to fully restore energy supplies and announced the temporary closure of schools.
Novorossiysk, Russia, this morning, a Ukrainian attack drone screams over the city at low altitude, eventually slamming into the port and exploding. pic.twitter.com/BrTsIG0J3l
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) May 17, 2024
The Russian Ministry of Defense also reported the destruction of six maritime drones in the Black Sea, indicating a multifaceted attack involving both aerial and sea drones.
This large-scale drone attack follows a confirmed Ukrainian missile strike that destroyed several Russian combat aircraft at Crimea’s Belbek Air Base. It appears to be a significant escalation in Ukraine’s campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, potentially aiming to disrupt Russia’s economic stability. The timing of this attack coincides with Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to repel a renewed Russian offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
While Ukraine has not officially commented on the attack, a source from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) described the operation as a joint effort between the SBU and Ukraine’s military intelligence. The source emphasized that the operation demonstrated Russia’s inability to protect its main naval bases in Sevastopol and Novorossiysk.
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