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April 22 (Reuters) – A large contingent of Russian firefighters was battling a blaze for the third day on \u200cWednesday at the Tuapse oil refinery on the Black \u200cSea after a Ukrainian drone attack, and officials said air quality in \u200bthe city had sharply deteriorated.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, two industry sources said the Tuapse oil refinery, which sells most of its products for export, had halted operations following the April 16 attack.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the \u200cgeneral headquarters of Russia’s \u2060southern Krasnodar region said: “In Tuapse, firefighting operations are going on for the third day at a \u2060large fire at the sea terminal after a drone attack by the Kyiv regime.”<\/p>\n
The headquarters said 276 firefighters and 77 vehicles \u200bhad been \u200bdrafted into the operation.<\/p>\n
It said \u200bbyproducts from the fire, mixed \u200cwith rainfall, had created a “black coating” in areas around the terminal.<\/p>\n
Atmospheric readings, it said, showed concentrations two to three times permitted concentration levels of benzene, xylene and soot and residents were urged to remain indoors, keep windows shut and wipe down \u200csurfaces.<\/p>\n
“The situation will normalise as soon \u200bas the fire is extinguished,” it \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n
Ukraine has increased attacks \u200bon Russia’s energy infrastructure as the U.S., which \u200chad brokered peace talks to \u200bstop the conflict \u200bwith Russia, has shifted its focus to the war in Iran.<\/p>\n
According to Russian officials, attacks on April 16 and \u200bApril 20 on \u200cthe city of Tuapse damaged transport infrastructure at the \u200bport and set oil product storage on fire.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by \u200bReuters; Editing by Kim Coghill)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n