MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Ukrainian drone strike on the southern Russian port city of Novorossiisk killed two people and wounded six on Wednesday, regional authorities said on Telegram.
The city’s top official declared a state of emergency at Novorossiisk, Russia’s major sea port on the Black Sea where oil and grain export terminals are located, but later said there was no danger to inhabitants and guests as servicemen had completed their tasks.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that there was no damage to port infrastructure or ships at Novorossiisk following the attack.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC)’s office in the city was struck in the attack, with two employees among those injured, CPC said.
The transport and loading of Kazakh oil through the CPC terminal near Novorossiisk was working according to schedule, the Kazakh energy ministry said in a statement.
CPC terminal loads Caspian CPC Blend crude oil for export to international markets.
Ukraine has been heavily targeting energy and port facilities that support Russia’s war economy and generate revenues for its state budget.
The emergency services ministry declared a danger of drone attacks across the whole of the Krasnodar region, while people were evacuated from beaches in the resort city of Sochi.
Regional authorities in the Krasnodar region, southern Russia, also alerted of a threat of attacks on the Black Sea port of Tuapse from Ukrainian naval drones, and instructed residents and guests to leave the coastal strip.
(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Robert Harvey, Editing by Mark Trevelyan, William Maclean and Hugh Lawson)
