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 a series designed to disrupt Russia's oil industry and slash revenue that helps Moscow 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 regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev had reported 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.
FLOW OF OIL PRODUCTS INTO SEA STOPPED
Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov, dispatched by Putin to the region, was quoted by Russian media as describing the situation as "complicated but controllable."
Kurenkov said the flow of oil products into the Black Sea had been stopped and booms would ensure the spills did not spread.
Kondratyev said firefighting teams were working to bring the blaze under control and an additional 300-member emergency crew would arrive on Wednesday.
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 an attack on April 20, black rain fell on the Black Sea port town and a beach resort, leaving an oily residue.
REFINERY HALTED
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.
On social media, some residents demanded an explanation why air defenses 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.
(Reuters - Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Rod Nickel and Ron Popeski)