Russia’s largest Black Sea port, Novorossiysk, has stopped receiving and exporting oil after a massive overnight drone attack early on Nov. 14 damaged the Sheskharis oil-loading terminal, sources told Reuters.
The strike forced Russia’s pipeline monopoly, Transneft, to halt shipments, though the company declined to comment.
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A large-scale drone attack on the terminal also sparked a fire, according to the Krasnodar regional emergency headquarters.
The blaze broke out after debris from intercepted drones struck the oil complex, forcing emergency crews to battle the flames for nearly two hours. Officials said no casualties were reported at the terminal itself.
The Sheskharis facility, built in 1964 and operated by state-owned Transneft, is among the largest oil transshipment hubs in southern Russia.
It receives, stores, and exports crude and refined products, handling a significant share of Russia’s seaborne Urals oil shipments. The complex includes 30 crude-oil tanks with a total capacity of 820,000 cubic meters, along with multiple reservoirs for fuel oil and diesel.
The drone strike also caused damage beyond the terminal. Local authorities confirmed that a civilian vessel in Novorossiysk port was hit, injuring three crew members who were later hospitalized. Several apartment buildings sustained damage from falling debris.
Kyiv had not commented on the strike at the time of publication.
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In one case, fragments of a downed drone pierced an apartment on the fourth floor, injuring a man who required medical treatment. Additional residential buildings reported shattered windows and damage to upper-floor units, while debris fell into courtyards in multiple locations.
Emergency services deployed 172 personnel and 51 units of equipment to contain fires, evacuate residents, and assess structural damage, the regional command said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air-defense forces “intercepted and destroyed” 216 Ukrainian drones overnight – including 66 over Krasnodar region, 45 over Saratov region, and dozens more across the Volgograd, Rostov, Belgorod, Tambov, Bryansk, Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, and Orenburg regions. The ministry also reported downing 19 drones over occupied Crimea and 59 over the Black Sea.
