The Kavkazskaya oil pumping station, located in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, is no longer suitable for oil transportation due to damage from a drone attack, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said on March 24.
Ukrainian drones struck the Kavkazskaya oil pumping station overnight on March 19, damaging infrastructure and igniting a fire, Moscow claimed earlier.
Firefighters continue battling a fire at the oil depot for the fifth day after the strike. The fire has spread to 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet), with one of the storage tanks and the oil products inside still burning, according to the region's administration.
Prior to that, Ukrainian drones also hit the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station on Feb. 17, the largest in Russia's Caspian Pipeline Consortium. As a result of the attack, the station was taken out of operation, an SBU source told the Kyiv Independent.
Following the shutdown of the Kropotkinskaya station, the volume of annual anticipated transportation was reduced, and following the destruction of the Kavkazskaya station, "it will not be possible in the foreseeable future," the consortium's statement read.
The consortium is continuing restoration work at the Kropotkinskaya station, according to the CPC.
The Kyiv Independent cannot verify these claims.
The facilities are part of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system, which pumps up to 6 million metric tons of oil annually.
The reported attack came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have ordered a pause on strikes against energy infrastructure after a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kyiv said it agreed to the energy ceasefire in principle but accused Russia of continuing its aerial strikes.
Ukraine has carried out attacks on Russian refineries, oil depots, and defense industry facilities to disrupt Moscow's ability to sustain its full-scale invasion.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
