Over 50% of Oil Refinery Tanks in Tuapse Destroyed by Ukrainian Drones

Ukrainian Defense Forces’ strike drones have destroyed or damaged most of the storage tanks at the Tuapse oil refinery.

Satellite images published by the Exilenova+ Telegram channel confirm the damage.

Out of 47 tanks with a total capacity of about 159,140 cubic meters, 28 have been destroyed or severely damaged.

According to estimates by the Oko Hora Telegram channel, 24 tanks were destroyed in the attacks, accounting for 52% of the total. Another 4 units (9%) were damaged. Eighteen tanks (39% of the facility) remained intact.

Over the past month, the oil depot has been hit by devastating strikes, causing significant damage to the refinery and undermining its export capacity.

The decisive strikes occurred on April 16 and 20, when large-scale fires broke out after the impacts.

In particular, during the overnight attack on April 20, flames engulfed about 10 tanks in the refinery’s port section.

In addition, on April 16, drones struck the ELOU-AVT-12 primary oil-processing unit and the fuel storage tanks. The fire at the facility took more than 42 hours to extinguish.

The Tuapse oil refinery is considered one of the most technologically complex facilities operated by Rosneft.

The plant is capable of processing up to 12 million tons of oil per year, with a refining depth of about 98%- an exceptionally high figure for the industry.

In addition, in September 2025, Ukrainian maritime drones (USVs) attacked Russian oil export infrastructure in the Black Sea for the first time.

At that time, one of the oil-loading piers at the port was hit.