In the Russian city of Tuapse, the environmental situation has rapidly deteriorated after Ukrainian drones repeatedly flew over the port. Local residents are complaining about what they describe as “oil rain,” according to Dialog.ua, citing eyewitness reports.
Following the first Ukrainian drone strike on the 16th of April this year, the port in Tuapse, located on the Black Sea coast, burned for several days. As soon as the fire was extinguished, Ukraine carried out another drone attack on the 20th of April. Multiple fires and heavy smoke were reported at the Tuapse oil refinery located within the port area.
Local residents report poor air quality and the phenomenon they call “oil rain.”
Oil products from the fires have begun settling as black, oily particles, contaminating everything around—buildings, trees, and vehicles.
Residents have started evacuating.
“This is a real environmental disaster! What should I do? I don’t want to stay here anymore. I have to leave… People are dying. Imagine, this substance can’t be washed off my hand even with soap. What kind of Chornobyl disaster is this? (…) I’m packing my things… I look out the window—everything is absolutely [bad]. (…) That’s it! I’m leaving,” a local resident says in the published video.
Tuapse is a commercial port on the Black Sea coast of Russia, handling around 25 million tons of cargo annually. It is used by Russia to export oil, grain, fertilizers, and other goods. The port is primarily focused on oil and petroleum product transshipment and hosts an oil loading terminal operated by Rosneft. It is considered a critically important facility for Russia’s oil industry.
The first strike on the port by Ukrainian forces occurred on the night of the 16th of April, resulting in a large-scale fire involving the refinery, a tanker, and other infrastructure. The port was attacked again on the 20th of April. The Ukrainian Defense Forces have already claimed responsibility for the operation.
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