Residents of Tuapse spoke about the consequences of another attack on the city.

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While authorities claim minor damage and that water and air samples meet hygiene standards in Tuapse after four attacks, local residents are complaining of smog, traces of petroleum products on windowsills and balcony railings, and general ill health.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the drone attack on the Tuapse seaport on May 1 was the fourth in two weeks. A fire broke out at the sea terminal and was extinguished on May 2.

Tuapse residents complained to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on May 4 about the consequences of repeated drone attacks on the city. Despite government claims of minor damage, local residents reported acrid smog in the city and growing concern for the health of their loved ones.

"There's nothing to breathe, nowhere to go. I live literally a stone's throw from the oil refinery. Our house was built in 1953 <...> The noise was so loud every time, we thought our old house would collapse like a house of cards and we'd all die. Our windows rattle with age, even when cars just pass by. What can we say about drones? Thick black smoke billows out immediately after the explosions. The wind blows mostly toward the center, but here on Sochinskaya Street, there's been a terrible smell of burnt rubber and chemicals, and it has lingered since April 16th. I went out onto the balcony this morning and saw gray, sticky dust on the railing, like soot mixed with oil. My daughter, who's seven, developed a dry cough by morning, even though she hadn't been sick. It feels like we're being poisoned regularly. Should I leave? Where to? "Nobody will buy an apartment here now, especially in an old building like ours next to the refinery. And there's no money to leave everything and run for the hills," said Marina, a resident of an old two-story building on Sochinskaya Street in the Grozneft microdistrict, adding that she constantly fears for her daughter, whom she hasn't let out anywhere since April 16th.

My throat is constantly scratchy and my head feels like lead.

"I live in a Stalin-era building. It's a three-story building. Even though our buildings are considered sturdy, despite their age—the building was built in 1957, and we're about three kilometers from the refinery—smoke from the explosions still billows across the entire city. You can see the glow from the window. You can smell the burning even with the windows closed. My mother is 72 and has hypertension. As soon as it all started, her blood pressure shot up to 200. She's been on pills all night, and it's still high. With each new attack, she feels worse. She says her throat is constantly scratchy and her head feels like lead. In local chats, people are writing that this black coating has also been found on cars near the port. It's become a system: it arrives, it burns, and we breathe. We've become hostages of this factory. "All of Tuapse is in a blaze of smoke, everyone in Tuapse is held hostage, no matter where we live or how far we are from the refinery," shared Igor, who lives in a house on Marshal Zhukov Street in the Center-Primorye district.

The children are lethargic and complain of stinging eyes.

"We are a little further than the other two kilometers from the refinery, but because of the mountainous terrain, all the smoke often accumulates in the lowlands. This morning, a gray haze hung over the city. There was a specific smell—oil products. I myself have had a terrible migraine and nausea since this morning. The children are lethargic and complain of stinging eyes. We are seriously considering moving to Krasnodar or further, to relatives in the Urals. Tuapse used to be a resort, but now it's a war zone with an environmental disaster to boot. Opportunities are limited, but staying here means ruining your health. We moved to Tuapse from the Urals for the sea and fresh air. We bought an apartment in a high-rise built in 1970. We lived happily for seven years. We thought it would last forever. But now we're afraid to go outside; we can't sleep. The sea is dirty. The air is the same. Of course, apartment prices in Tuapse have plummeted. The apartment is unsellable now. But my mother is in the Urals. She's calling me back. "There's no end in sight," said Svetlana, who lives in a house on Kronshtadtskaya Street in the Barsovaya Shchel district.

The authorities constantly lie that "the situation is under control," but we can see that there is no protection.

"I personally saw black flakes on the hood and roof of my own car. It's not just soot; it doesn't wash off with regular water; it smears like a greasy stain. Clearly, petroleum products were burning. The authorities constantly lie that "the situation is under control," but we can see that there is no protection. A fourth attack! Every time it's the same: explosion, fire, stench. I work on the railroad, and I see how scared people are. Many of my friends and neighbors in the building have already taken their children to live with their grandmothers in other regions. "I'd leave too if I had work and housing elsewhere," complains Alexey, who lives in a house on Bohdan Khmelnitsky Street, two or three kilometers from the refinery. He believes that only "mentally ill people" can vacation in Tuapse this year.

Local blogger  Vitaly said that the oil refinery is adjacent to residential buildings on Sochinskaya Street, "which are literally a few meters away." "Local public groups always see the first videos of explosions from Sochinskaya Street," the blogger said.

Due to the terrain, residential areas in Tuapse and the oil refinery are located in a basin between mountains, so smog after fires "stagnates" in lowlands like Barsova Shchel or Kadosh.

"Marshal Zhukov Street is located in the center, on a hill. It offers a panoramic view of the industrial zone and the port. Smoke always blows in this direction when the wind is southerly or southeasterly. Kronshtadtskaya Street in Barsova Shchel is a deep "ravine." Due to the terrain, residential areas in Tuapse and the oil refinery are located in a basin between mountains, so smog after fires "stagnates" in lowlands like Barsova Shchel or Kadosh, even if the plant itself is no longer burning. "Bohdan Khmelnitsky Street is the area around Sortirovka and the railway station. It's an industrial and transportation hub adjacent to Rosneft's facilities," he said.

Atsamaz Khadikov, a doctor from North Ossetia, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he visits resorts in the Krasnodar region every year "to get some fresh air." "But now that opportunity has vanished. I was passing Tuapse on a train. I was traveling toward Sochi and personally saw black smoke and smelled a burning smell in the train car. "People were coughing," he said.

According to him, "Even without the drone attacks, Tuapse was the leader in local morbidity, but now the health problems of local residents will increase exponentially."

A regional state of emergency is in effect throughout the entire Tuapse District. You can read about emergency assessment criteria, response levels, structures, and resources for eliminating the consequences in the Caucasian Knot document "Emergency Situation Regime (ES)".

Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by the Caucasian Knot on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".