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Video: Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Terminal at Novorossiysk

Novorossiysk
Large infrared signatures consistent with fires at Novorossiysk, especially concentrated at the oil loading terminal (NASA FIRMS)

Published Nov 13, 2025 11:01 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Ukrainian forces carried out a massive strike on the Russian port of Novorossiysk, inflicting significant damage on oil loading terminals that are vital to Russia's revenue stream. At least one vessel has also been reported damaged on Russian social media, but the claim has not been confirmed.

Novorossiysk is home to the Sheskharis loading terminal, where Transneft's pipelines from inland Russia deposit Urals crude into tankers for export. The terminal appears to have been hit hard in the Ukrainian strike, and multiple bystander videos showed it engulfed in flames. 

A separate, white-hot explosion and fire were captured on video, and multiple open-source analysts suggest that the blast was consistent with a direct hit on an air defense battery. If the Russian air defenses for the city have been taken down, then further attacks could follow in the nights to come. 

The Sheskharis terminal is directly adjacent to the port's naval station, previously considered a place of relative safety for the Black Sea Fleet. The extent of any damage to warships at Novorossiysk was not immediately clear, but NASA FIRMS fire detection sensing suggests no signs of heat sources in the naval harbor. Given the proximity, the strike shows that Ukraine can now hold this key base at risk, despite the long distance. 

The attack follows just days after a similar strike on the port of Tuapse, where Ukrainian cruise missiles and drones hit oil loading piers and moored tankers. Ukrainian drone forces have also kept up a steady tempo of attacks on Russia's terrestrial pipelines and oil refineries, including an apparent hit on the Saratov refinery on Thursday night. Taken all together - the strikes on refining infrastructure, pipelines and crude oil export terminals - Ukrainian forces appear to be making a multi-pronged effort to deny Russia's oil producers access to market.