May 1 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday, local officials said, as residents complained of an environmental catastrophe and demanded more help from Moscow.
Ukraine’s drone forces commander confirmed the attack, the fourth on Tuapse since April 16.
Previous strikes have set fire to an oil refinery in the town at least twice, halting production, as part of a wider Ukrainian strategy to disrupt Russia’s huge energy industry that finances its war effort.
The attacks have thrown up dense black clouds over the town and caused oil slicks along the coastline, ruining the beaches of the popular resort.
Residents have been warned to stay inside, keep their windows closed, and drink only bottled water.
“Today, in these difficult days, we are overcoming adversity and solving important problems together. And I believe we will succeed!” district head Sergei Boiko said in a message congratulating residents on the May Day public holiday.
Less than three hours later, he published a renewed drone alert, telling people to take shelter in windowless rooms.
With the war in its fifth year and peace talks stalled, Russia and Ukraine have been pounding each other from the air while frontlines on the battlefield remain largely static.
Russia, throughout the conflict, has bombed Ukrainian power plants and the electricity grid. A Russian drone attack overnight damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region and wounded two people, the regional governor said.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
Tuapse has been subject to a state of emergency since Tuesday, when an attack started a huge fire at the refinery that was not extinguished until two days later.
Authorities said on Friday that they had so far cleared more than 13,300 cubic metres of fuel oil and contaminated soil along the coast.
State TV showed a reporter standing on a blackened beach and using a spade to show how deep the oozing filth had seeped.
In an online chatroom, some locals vented anger and despair, criticising what they saw as a lack of effective action from the central authorities in Moscow.
“Pollution, fires, emissions – none of this will disappear in a day or even a year,” one woman posted.
“It will impact people’s health, our children’s health, the environment, and the future of the town. All of this could have been avoided. But someone’s ambitions and decisions once again proved more important than our safety.”
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan, Alessandra Prentice and Ron Popeski; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Kirsten Donovan)
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