Drones Strike Oil Terminal and Substation in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai

Ukrainian Defence Forces drones struck an oil and gas terminal and a power substation crucial to the temporarily occupied Crimea in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.

According to Militarnyi, fires at these facilities were detected by satellites operated by NASA’s FIRMS service.

This refers to the Tamanneftegaz oil and gas complex in the settlement of Volna, which plays an important role in facilitating Russia’s oil exports.

As a result of the drone attack, oil and petroleum product storage tanks were likely set ablaze.

Tamanneftegaz is operated by the OTEKO group and is the largest privately owned oil terminal complex in southern Russia. The facility serves as a specialized transshipment hub for receiving, storing, and loading petroleum products.

The terminal has an annual throughput capacity of around 19.9 million tons. Prior to the start of the Ukrainian attacks, its storage tanks for petroleum products and liquefied gas had a total capacity exceeding 1 million cubic meters.

This is not the first attack on this facility. On July 30, at least three storage tanks and pipelines were hit. The disruption of this infrastructure directly interferes with the loading of oil tankers in the Black Sea.

In addition, a fire was reported at the Taman substation, which is a key hub of the Russian so-called energy bridge to the temporarily occupied Crimea.

A widespread blackout occurred on the peninsula last night. A complete power outage was reported in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia, and Yalta. There are also internet disruptions.

Importance of the Taman Substation

The Taman power substation (Taman 500/220 kV substation) is a major 500 kV transmission substation that forms part of Russia’s Unified Power System.

It is one of the key elements of the power supply to occupied Crimea via the Kerch Strait. All four lines of the power bridge from Russia’s Krasnodar Krai to the invaded peninsula pass through the substation.

Taking such facilities out of commission creates a power shortage on the occupied peninsula and limits the operations of Russian industrial and military facilities.