This morning, smoke was seen billowing from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, Russia, sparking concerns about a potential fresh attack or drone strike that would have targeted the port’s oil stockpile. Russian officials attempted to minimize the incident by claiming that the fire was restricted to the cargo yard and put out without any injuries.
Novorossiysk is Russia’s main port on the Black Sea with a large cargo operation in addition to the oil terminal. The Russian Black Sea fleet also operates from the port.
In a successful attack two weeks earlier, Ukraine used an unmanned watercraft to hit and damage the Russian landing craft Olenegorsky Gornyak as it was anchored in the harbor. Later, it was dragged to a berth in the harbor.
The fire that occurred today was reported shortly after 9:00 local time, and images posted on social media showed the massive black cloud of smoke moving throughout the city. Explosions were heard coming from the port area, according to the locals.
42 firefighters responded with 14 pieces of equipment, according to Russian officials. According to reports, the fire was put out just after noon.
According to the official report, a fire started on wooden pallets and spread to a yard at the cargo port that was about 15,000 square feet in size. The investigation stated that the explosion was probably caused by the fire spreading to barrels of liquid gasoline. Images sent to the social media platform Telegram also showed containers that had burned along with their contents.
