Smoke billows above the Tuapse oil refinery in southwest Russia, after strikes by Ukrainian drones, April 20, 2026
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UPDATE 0749 GMT:
Ukrainian drones have reportedly struck a command post of the Russian State security service FSB in the occupied Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, killing 12 officers and injuring 15 others.
The commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, posted on Telegram about “eight precision strikes” around 8 a.m. on Thursday. Videos showed the drones striking a multi-story unfinished building.
Brovdi said Ukrainian forces used FP-2 drones designed for medium-range strikes, with a payload of 60 to 100 kilograms.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Fires are still burning at one of Russia’s major oil refineries, struck on Monday by Ukrainian drones.
The Tuapse refinery, in Krasnodar Krai in southwest Russia, is one of the country’s 10 largest refineries. It has a processing capacity of around 12 million tons of petroleum products per year.
At least two storage tanks were reportedly set ablaze on Monday, in the second Ukrainian attack on the facility in four days.
“The fire at the Tuapse oil refinery is still ongoing – four storage tanks are ablaze,” the regional emergency headquarters confirmed on Thursday.
Residents are expressing fear over safety, as air quality deteriorates amid the thick smoke from the fires. They are posting images of pollution in the Black Sea.
“There is nothing to breathe” was among the messages on social media. One resident said over a video of people trying to wash off the black residue covering the city:
This is honestly some kind of environmental disaster. What am I supposed to do? I do not want to stay here anymore. I need to leave today.
Why is this happening? It will not wash off at all. This is just a nightmare.
Amid the Ukrainian attacks and US sanctions, Russia’s government revenues from oil sales fell 47% in January and February. They recovered in March as Washington waived the sanctions and global oil prices rose because of the US-Israel War on Iran. However, the revenues are again falling with Ukraine’s strikes on ports and oil terminals as well as the refineries.
