UPDATE 5-New Ukrainian strike on Russia's Tuapse refinery, Putin says attacks more intense on civilian targets

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a major fire at a Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse on Tuesday, officials said, in what President Vladimir Putin described as evidence of ‌increased Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets. It was the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks. Ukraine's military confirmed it had carried out the strike, the latest in an intensified series of strikes designed to disrupt Russia's oil industry and slash revenues that help Moscow to fund the war in Ukraine.

Putin, in comments broadcast ‌on Russian television, said: "Drone strikes against civilian infrastructure are becoming more frequent. "The latest example is the strikes against energy facilities in Tuapse, which could potentially ‌cause serious environmental consequences," he said.

Putin said the regional governor had reported that there were no major threats. "It seems there are no serious dangers, and people are managing to deal with the challenges they face on the ground," he added. Putin earlier ordered Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov to travel to Tuapse to oversee firefighting efforts and deal with the aftermath of the incident. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of ⁠exacerbating a ​global oil shortage by targeting storage facilities ⁠containing oil intended for export.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moscow's accusations. In the past, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Russian exports were not significant ⁠enough to affect global market prices. Images on social media showed dense black smoke rising from the direction of the Tuapse refinery. The state consumer watchdog told people to stay ​indoors and keep windows closed.

Following a previous attack on April 20, black rain fell on the Black Sea port town and a popular beach ⁠resort, leaving an oily residue. The refinery halted production on April 16 because of drone damage to the port that made it impossible to ship its production, industry sources told Reuters. At least three people have ⁠been ​killed in the strikes, according to officials, and one of them led to an oil spill at sea. The head of the Tuapse district, Sergei Boyko, on Tuesday ordered residents near the refinery to evacuate to a school.

SOME RESIDENTS VOICE ANGER AFTER ATTACK On social media, some residents demanded an explanation ⁠why air defences had not been strengthened to prevent a third successive attack. Some complained that Moscow was indifferent to their plight. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said authorities ⁠were "working intensively" to combat Ukrainian drone strikes. Ukraine ⁠has stepped up its attacks on Russian energy targets since March, with U.S.-brokered peace talks on pause and Washington mainly focusing on the Iran war.

The Tuapse refinery has annual production capacity of about 12 million metric tons, or 240,000 ‌barrels per day, turning ‌out naphtha, diesel, fuel oil and vacuum gasoil.

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