‘Oil is literally falling from the sky’: Russian town fears environmental disaster after Ukrainian drone strikes on refinery

For the third time in 12 days, the Russian Black Sea town of Tuapse woke up Tuesday to apocalyptic scenes.

Thick toxic fumes, and flames rising up from the latest Ukrainian drone attack on the Rosneft-owned Tuapse oil refinery, almost reached the heights of the surrounding Caucasus mountains.

By Thursday morning, authorities said the fire had been extinguished. Fires from the two previous attacks, on April 16 and 20, also took days to put out, with toxic substances pouring down in black rain and blanketing cars and streets in oily grime, leading to what experts are dubbing the worst environmental disaster in the region in years.

“The city is choking on smoke,” one resident said on social media.

Located around 70 miles northwest of Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tuapse is part of the subtropical resort area along the Black Sea coast, once known as the “Russian Riviera” thanks to its popularity among Russians as a summer holiday destination. The town’s refinery, attached to a marine terminal, is a key oil-processing and export hub for Russia, and has been repeatedly targeted by Ukraine in recent months.