Thousands Evacuated After Ukraine Strikes Crimea's Largest Oil Terminal

The Ukrainian strike on the oil terminal was successful despite it's being protected by short range air defense systems, suggesting that Ukraine has figured out how to neutralize them. JL

The Moscow Times reports:

Ukraine’s missile forces carried out a successful strike on the Feodosia offshore oil terminal, which is the largest on the Crimean peninsula. More than 1,000 people were evacuated in the (occupied) Crimean city of Feodosia after Ukrainian strikes sparked a large fire at the major oil terminal. Pantsir-S short-range air defense systems have been deployed at the oil terminal since at least the fall of 2022

More than 1,000 people were evacuated in the annexed Crimean city of Feodosia after Ukrainian strikes sparked a large fire at a major oil terminal there the day before, Russian-installed authorities said Tuesday.

On Monday, Ukraine’s military claimed its missile forces had carried out a successful strike on the Feodosia offshore oil terminal, which it called the largest on the Crimean peninsula. Russian-installed authorities said there were no casualties.

“An evacuation of 1,047 people to temporary accommodation centers was carried out to ensure the safety of the people living near the site of the emergency,” Feodosia’s Moscow-backed mayor Igor Tkachenko said.

The evacuees were placed in hotels and guest houses after registering and undergoing medical examinations, Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

He added that firefighting efforts continued and urged residents to “remain calm and only trust official information.”

Pantsir-S short-range air defense systems have been deployed at the oil terminal since at least the fall of 2022, according to satellite images shared by the Russian-language edition of the RFE/RL news organization.