Russia temporarily suspends oil exports from Novorossiysk following Ukrainian attack

Russia temporarily suspends roughly 2% of its global oil supply following a Ukrainian strike on one of its major facilities in its southwestern port city of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai on Friday, according to multiple Russian officials and Telegram channels.

The attack, which struck the Sheskharis oil terminal and sparked fires, according to officials, serves as the endpoint for pipelines. It sparked a large fire at the site, now extinguished, causing it to suspend exports of 2.2 million barrels per day, according to Reuters, citing industry sources.

Ukrainian strikes have repeatedly targeted Novorossiysk as it acts as a key hub for Russia’s Black Sea logistics and energy infrastructure.

Russian oil refineries and petrochemical facilities are considered to be legitimate military targets by Kyiv, as they help fund Russia's war on Ukraine.

The Krasnodar Krai operational headquarters reported that the oil terminal had been hit, damaging several coastal facilities.

A civilian vessel located in the port was reported to have been struck in the mass attack, leaving three crew members injured, local media outlet RIA Novosti said.

Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, commented on the incident on social media. “This is the oil terminal in Novorossiysk after the strike,” he wrote on Telegram. “Meanwhile, Russia is hitting residential buildings and energy infrastructure."

Meanwhile, earlier in the week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media X that "For the first time since the beginning of the war, a noticeable decline has been recorded this year in Russia's oil production and refining," adding, "The oil and gas revenues of the Russian budget are decreasing, and by the end of this year, Russia will have lost at least US$37 billion in budget oil and gas income."

The latest strike on Novorossiysk came as Russia launched waves of drones and missiles at Kyiv in a massive overnight attack that killed at least six people, left 14 people injured, and set several apartment buildings on fire.