Black smoke has been constantly rising over the Russian Black Sea port city of Tuapse after a series of Ukrainian drone strikes hit a major oil refinery and export terminal, setting off fires that have burned intermittently for days and spreading oil contamination across land, rivers, coastal waters and even rain water.
The first strike on April 16 ignited major fires at the Tuapse refinery, damaging storage tanks and forcing a shutdown of operations. Emergency crews later worked along a nearby river as petroleum residue spread beyond the industrial site. The Washington Post reported that the refinery has been struck four times in two weeks, with repeated fires reigniting after successive drone attacks, creating what environmental groups describe as a prolonged ecological crisis.
