Not just Kalibr carrier: New details emerge on Novorossiysk strike
Illustrative photo
After a nighttime drone attack on Novorossiysk in Russia, a Transneft facility caught fire — a site that services some of the largest oil tankers, Reuters reports.
The fire engulfed the berthing area of the state-owned company Transneft at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
Where the fire broke out
The blaze occurred near berths 1, 1A, and 2 — key loading points of the terminal.
Their capacities include:
- Berth 1 — can handle tankers with a deadweight of up to 250,000 tons;
- Berth 2 — designed for vessels of up to 90,000 tons.
Has oil loading stopped?
It remains unclear how the attack has affected terminal operations. Transneft has not yet responded to media inquiries.
Updated at 5:35 p.m.
Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed a successful strike on the Sheskharis terminal.
"In particular, oil-loading infrastructure at the Sheskharis oil terminal (Novorossiysk, Krasnodar region, Russia) was hit. Impacts on the target and a large-scale fire at the terminal have been recorded," the statement said.
Photo: Ukraine’s General Staff shows aftermath of attack on Russia (t.me/GeneralStaffZSU)
At the same time, sources in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) told RBC-Ukraine that six out of seven marine loading arms were damaged in the strike. These are used to load and unload oil from tankers.
In addition, drones hit the terminal’s ground infrastructure. A key pipeline junction and the oil metering unit were damaged, sparking fires.
Ukraine’s General Staff confirms strike on Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk pic.twitter.com/rUI1swDKOw
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) April 6, 2026
As previously reported by RBC-Ukraine, drones attacked Novorossiysk overnight on April 5. The videos emerged online showing a fire at the Sheskharis terminal and reports of explosions.
The city’s mayor confirmed a massive drone attack and urged residents to remain in shelters.
Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, said one of the strikes hit the frigate Admiral Grigorovich. The extent of the damage is being assessed by intelligence.
Estimates by the Kyiv School of Economics suggest that a series of earlier strikes on Russian oil terminals in the Baltic (Primorsk and Ust-Luga) caused nearly $1 billion in losses for Russia.
More than 40% of Russia’s seaborne oil exports pass through these two ports.
