One of the key oil depots in southern Russia caught fire in Novorossiysk following a drone attack
In Novorossiysk, in the Krasnodar Krai of the Russian Federation, a fire broke out at an oil transhipment complex on the night of 8 June following a drone attack, according to DW.
According to monitoring Telegram channels, the attack caused a fire on the transhipment complex’s premises. 130 people and 39 pieces of equipment were deployed to extinguish the fire.
The fire engulfed the tank farm at the ‘Grushova Balka’ production site, which is part of the ‘Sheshkharis’ complex. The facility is located approximately 12 kilometres from Novorossiysk and covers an area of over 212 hectares.
The ‘Grushova Balka’ site houses dozens of storage tanks for oil and petroleum products. The total storage capacity is around 1.2 million tonnes. It is here that oil from Russia’s inland regions is piped in before being loaded onto tankers.
‘Grushova Balka’ is connected by a system of process pipelines and tunnels to the ‘Sheshkharis’ marine terminal. Together, they form a single transhipment complex that plays a vital role in the operations of the Novorossiysk seaport and the export infrastructure of southern Russia.
Throughout the night, residents of Novorossiysk reported more than 50 explosions. Following the attack, a fire broke out in the city, and the authorities temporarily closed the road from Novorossiysk towards Gelendzhik and from Kabardinka towards Novorossiysk.
The Sheshkharis complex has been targeted on several previous occasions. Strikes on the facility were previously reported in early March, early April and on 22 May.
