Russian President Vladimir Putin has complained of a growing number of Ukrainian attacks on civilian sites in Russia, pointing to recent strikes on oil storage facilities in the Black Sea city of Tuapse.
“Drone strikes are increasingly being carried out against civilian infrastructure,” Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting on security issues ahead of parliamentary elections in September.
Ukraine has launched three major attacks on Tuapse over the past two weeks. After the latest attack in the early hours of Tuesday once again triggered major fires, authorities called for the evacuation of nearby streets for the first time.
Official figures indicated that levels of benzene, xylene and soot in the air were two to three times above safety limits. Rain later brought oil particles down from the sky, leaving black, greasy stains on houses and cars. The oil pollution affected people and animals, while oil products entered the Black Sea.
Putin spoke of “potentially serious consequences” for the environment, but denied that there was currently any serious danger to residents.
The authorities had everything under control, he said, after speaking with the governor of Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev.
Kiev has deliberately been targeting Russia’s oil industry, a key source of revenue for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Russia, meanwhile, has been systematically attacking areas far behind the front line in Ukraine for more than four years, using drones and missiles. Russian strikes kill civilians in Ukraine almost daily and have destroyed homes as well as infrastructure vital to residents.
Moscow, however, claims it only attacks military sites and facilities relevant to Ukraine’s arms industry.