Meanwhile, the regional crisis centre warned that “due to the severe fire, combustion products are being released into the atmosphere”.
Residents were urged to wear masks and rinse their nose, eyes and throat, as well as keep windows closed and limit time outdoors.
Anastasia Troyanova, a local correspondent for environmental news outlet Kedr, described “a huge cloud of black smoke over the town; it smells of burning”.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s emergencies minister to fly to Tuapse urgently to oversee firefighting and cleanup efforts.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Ukraine had struck oil storage facilities intended for export operations, arguing that Kyiv was destabilising global energy markets.
In a statement, Ukraine’s military confirmed it had again hit the Tuapse refinery, as part of concerted efforts to “reduce the military-economic potential of the Russian aggressor”.
In recent months, Ukraine’s military has intensified its strikes on key energy facilities across Russia.
Kyiv says they are legitimate targets, as they allow Russia to continue its war effort.
In a separate development, one person was injured in a Russian drone attack on Kyiv, the capital’s Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.
Ukrainian officials also reported several fires, including one at a cemetery.
