Amidst Tightening Global Supplies, Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Export Pipeline
Amidst oil shipping disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, Ukraine has attacked an oil pipeline leading to Russia's export terminals on the Black Sea, hoping to restrict Moscow's access to revenue from energy sales.
On Thursday, Ukrainian forces struck a key oil depot and pumping station at the town of Tikhoretsk, 135 miles inland from the Black Sea. Tikhoretsk is a major transfer point located between the Druzhba pipeline system in central Russia - which collects up production from Siberia and the Urals - and the Sheskharis loading terminal at Novorossiysk, the protected harbor next to the Kerch Strait. It is connected to the pumping station at Samara by the Kuibyshev-Tikhoretsk pipeline, then onwards to Novorossiysk and Tuapse, making it the sole connecting point between the main network and these two export ports.
The major oil hub in Tikhoretsk, Krasnodar region, in Russia has been severely hit this morning and is burning.
The hub is a major transfer point of oil in Russia‘s south, supplying oil to Novorossiysk and Tuapse. pic.twitter.com/WACvMILSOj
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) March 12, 2026
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The fire has been confirmed by bystander videos and satellite imaging. Local authorities in Krasnodar Krai said that there was a fire at the facility due to "fall of UAV debris." No casualties were reported; more than 80 firefighters were working on scene to control the blaze.
The strike is the latest in a long series of Ukrainian actions to shut down Russia's Black Sea oil export system. Crude oil revenue is a major component of the Russian federal budget, and underpins the ongoing invasion. There is a tradeoff to restricting its sale and shipment: Russia's voluminous oil is a resource in a tightening global market already contending with a shutdown at Hormuz. The Trump administration has formally lifted sanctions on sales of Russian oil already afloat, hoping to take the edge off of supply restrictions for India (and India only).
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