Kamal Ghorui
An oil terminal near the village of Volna in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai was struck late Wednesday by Ukrainian drones, triggering a major fire that killed at least three people and injured several others, according to Russian authorities.Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev said four oil product tanks caught fire following the strike. Emergency services said the fire was extinguished by Thursday morning, after 208 personnel and 51 pieces of equipment were deployed. Volna and Taman are located on the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia, across the Kerch Strait from Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The area lies roughly 325 km from Ukrainian-controlled territory near Nikopol. Kondratyev said this marked the second consecutive night of attacks on Krasnodar Krai. Earlier on January 21, one person was killed and 11 injured in an overnight strike in Russia’s Republic of Adygea, while a separate drone attack sparked a fire at the Afipsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, according to Russian media and local officials.The Afipsky refinery, one of the largest in southern Russia, has been targeted multiple times in previous drone strikes, including attacks reported in September and November last year that also caused fires.According to the Kyiv Independent, Ukraine considers Russian energy infrastructure to be legitimate military targets, arguing that oil and fuel revenues directly support Moscow’s war effort. Kyiv has increasingly carried out long-range strikes inside Russia to weaken its military capabilities.Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian maritime and energy assets, including ports, tankers and offshore platforms, while Russia has continued to strike Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure, including repeated attacks on the Black Sea port of Odesa.
