Sheskharis Oil Terminal in Novorossiysk Suspends Operations After Strike

As previously reported, on the night of March 2, units of Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine later confirmed that the Novorossiysk naval base in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai was also targeted.

The information was published on the official pages of Ukraine’s top military command.

According to official reports, the strike damaged the terminal’s oil loading facilities as well as a radar station belonging to an S-400 air defense system.

Strike on the Sheskharis Terminal

Satellite images published on the Exilenova+ Telegram channel show damage to technical overpasses, the tank farm, and loading infrastructure. It is also reported that the terminal’s operations have effectively been halted.

The Sheskharis terminal in Novorossiysk is one of Russia’s key oil export terminals and a strategically important hub for transporting crude oil and petroleum products, including the Urals grade.

Satellite images of the Novorossiysk naval base

Separately, analysts noted a dark spot on a pier in the area where Project 1124 Albatros small anti-submarine ships are stationed in Novorossiysk.

Its origin is not disclosed in the provided materials and requires further verification using subsequent images or additional data.

Who carried out the strike and what with

According to the General Staff’s report, the operation was conducted using drones by the Security Service of Ukraine’s Special Operations Center “A,” in coordination with other components of the Defense Forces (the State Border Guard Service, Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the Unmanned Systems Forces, and the Special Operations Forces).

Previous strikes on Novorossiysk carried out by the SSU

On December 15, 2025, the SBU used Sub Sea Baby underwater drones to strike the deployment site of a Project 636.3 Varshavyanka submarine. Satellite images at the time showed damage to the pier and likely serious damage to the submarine’s stern section.

High-resolution satellite images published by Exilenova+ recorded significant damage to the concrete pier where the targeted submarine had been moored.

According to assessments by analysts from various research groups, the submarine’s stern section sustained serious damage at that time.

With a high degree of probability, Duke BG also identified the damaged submarine as B-271 Kolpino. He compared the vessel shown in a video published by the propaganda channel Zvezda on December 16 with other open-source images of this class of submarine, matching the paint pattern on the upper part of the outer hull.