Third Ukraine strike on Tuapse hits Russian oil refinery and prompts evacuations

A major Russian oil refinery on the Black Sea has been hit for the third time this month by Ukrainian drones, causing a "massive fire" and forcing the evacuation of people living nearby, local officials have said. Earlier strikes in the past two weeks at the Tuapse refinery caused a big oil spill in the sea and residents reported "black" rain falling on the city and leaving an oily residue everywhere. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of "further increasing the oil shortage in global energy markets... and provoking further destabilisation". Ukraine's military confirmed the latest drone strike, saying such refineries helped fund Russia's full-scale invasion launched in 2022. More than 160 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the blaze, Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Tuesday. No casualties were reported. In a post on Telegram on Tuesday morning, Kondratyev said firefighters and other rescuers were working in "extremely difficult conditions", and he described their efforts as "true heroism". "Our top priority is preserving the lives and health of city residents and visitors," he added. The head of the local municipal district, Sergei Boyko, asked residents of ne