Drones strike Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, fire breaks out at oil refinery

At 2:08 a.m. Kyiv time, at least three explosions could be heard in Kropotkin. Some sources claimed that drone debris fell on an oil storage facility, triggering a fire, while others suggest the blaze spread to the facility itself.

At 4:30 a.m., ASTRA published information from the Krasnodar Krai Operational Headquarters, confirming that a drone attack was repelled near Kavkazskaya stanitsa, close to Kropotkin. However, falling debris ignited a fire at the oil depot.

Official reports indicate:

• 20 square meters of the facility were engulfed in flames
• A pipeline between storage tanks was damaged
• Automatic fire suppression systems were activated
• The fire was classified as a level-4 emergency
• 105 firefighters and 45 emergency vehicles were deployed.
• 30 refinery workers were evacuated, but no injuries were reported

Kavkazskaya stanitsa is located near the Kropotkin oil pumping station, a key Caspian Pipeline Consortium hub. The facility was previously targeted on Feb. 17, leading to a temporary halt of operations.

This attack follows a March 14 drone strike near Tuapse, another city in Krasnodar Krai, where a major fire at an oil refinery was burning for several days.