Ukrainian Drone Attack Inflicts Severe Damage on Russia's Main Oil Port in the Black Sea
In a significant escalation of hostilities, Ukrainian drones launched a devastating attack on Russia's largest crude oil loading terminal, located in the Black Sea port of Novyi Rozdil, resulting in extensive damage and a complete halt to oil export operations.
In the early hours of Monday, Ukrainian drones executed a coordinated strike on the largest terminal for loading crude oil in Russia, situated in the port of Novyi Rozdil on the Black Sea. This attack left behind flames that illuminated the horizon, visible even from space, and led to a total cessation of oil export operations.
Simultaneously, other Ukrainian drones targeted suspected air defense facilities in the western region of Krasnodar and on the occupied Crimean Peninsula, as well as objectives in various parts of Russia.
This brutal assault on Novyi Rozdil follows over a week of near-daily drone attacks on Russian crude oil export terminals in the Baltic Sea, which, by early April, had reportedly resulted in a loss of 40% of the total export capacity of the Russian Federation.
The primary focus of Ukraine's recent attacks on oil loading terminals in the Black Sea has been the Sheskharis terminal, which serves as the main export outlet for Russian Urals and Siberian Light crude oils, as well as Kazakh oil.
In peacetime, the terminals at the port of Novyi Rozdil handled approximately 25-35% of all crude oil exports from the Russian Federation, amounting to about 3-3.2 million tons per month. During wartime, according to industry reports, this facility accounts for roughly 20% of Russia's crude oil exports.
The Ukrainian attack, involving over 50 unmanned aerial vehicles, has been described as the most ambitious and destructive in the history of the war concerning strikes on Novyi Rozdil's oil transport facilities. Previous attacks on the port, which resulted in confirmed damages, occurred on November 14 and 29, February 7, and March 1, according to data from Kyiv Post.
Initial reports of a potential large-scale Ukrainian drone assault on Novyi Rozdil emerged around 7:00 PM local time (4:00 PM UTC) on Sunday, when the mayor of Novyi Rozdil, Andriy Kravchenko, announced the likelihood of a Ukrainian strike and urged residents to remain in shelters.