Ukraine Drones Strike Russian Terminal in Novorossiysk

Flames tore through the Sheskharis oil terminal in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after overnight Ukrainian drone strikes, in what appeared to be one of the most consequential hits on Russia’s energy infrastructure in the more than four-year-old conflict.

Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine struck facilities at the maritime transhipment complex in Novorossiysk, damaging a mooring point used by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and setting four oil product reservoirs ablaze, according to Russian media.

The CPC, which moves most of Kazakhstan’s oil exports to international markets, said earlier that export volumes had not been disrupted. By industry estimates, the terminal accounts for about 1.5% of global oil supply.

“The Kyiv regime deliberately attacked facilities of the international oil transportation company Caspian Pipeline Consortium in order to inflict maximum economic damage on its largest shareholders – energy companies from the United States and Kazakhstan,” the Russian defence ministry said. The CPC terminal exports oil from Kazakhstan, and its shareholders include US energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Sheskharis typically loads between 600,000 and 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and exported 19.8 million tons of oil products last year, the sources added.

Ukraine has sharply stepped up drone attacks on Russian energy sites, focusing on ports and terminals along the Black Sea and Baltic Sea as it seeks to squeeze Moscow’s oil revenues, a key pillar of financial support for Russia’s war effort.

The latest strikes came as Russian attacks also battered Ukrainian cities. Overnight, Russia launched a drone assault on the southern port city of Odesa, killing three people, including a child, and wounding 16 others, Ukrainian officials said. Residential buildings, energy infrastructure and a kindergarten were damaged, leaving about 16,700 households without electricity.

Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram: “Overnight, Odesa came under another heavy attack by the enemy. The damage to homes and critical infrastructure is extensive, and repair work will take time.” Residents said drones hit rooftops and central sections of apartment buildings, cutting off escape routes.

Russian authorities, meanwhile, said at least eight people were injured in Novorossiysk, including two children, during the Ukrainian drone attacks, and that some residential buildings were damaged. Russia did not confirm whether the port itself had been hit.

Air defence units in Russia said they shot down 148 Ukrainian drones over a three-hour span, while emergency crews worked to restore electricity to nearly half a million households affected by the attacks.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian-installed officials said all 41 miners trapped underground after a Ukrainian strike on the Bilorechenska coal mine in Luhansk region had been safely evacuated. Power has been restored at the mine, and none of the workers were injured.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media that Russia launched 140 drones in overnight attacks and hit energy infrastructure across several regions, including Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro, as he renewed his appeal for stronger air defences.

“Russia has no intention of stopping,” Mr Zelenskiy said. “During the past week, over 2,800 attack drones were used, along with nearly 1,350 guided aerial bombs and more than 40 missiles of various types.”

The overnight exchanges highlighted the deepening intensity of the war, with both Ukraine and Russia increasingly treating energy infrastructure as both a strategic target and an economic pressure point in the prolonged conflict.