Translated material
War
1528th day. Ukraine dealt a new blow to Tuapse. Fires at oil facilities are being extinguished in Perm. There is an environmental disaster in both cities
Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters every day because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us your thoughts about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect your life and your attitude towards the world? If you have a story related to the war, tell it . The feedback form is at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .
Russia
Tuapse. On the night of May 1, Ukraine dealt a new blow to Tuapse in the Krasnodar Territory. According to the regional operational headquarters, a fire occurred on the territory of the marine terminal. More than 100 people and over 40 pieces of equipment were involved in extinguishing it. No one was injured, authorities said.
The Ukrainian monitoring public Exelinova+ reported that one or more tanks with petroleum products were burning on the territory of the terminal. Judging by eyewitness footage, thick black smoke rises into the sky over Tuapse.
The governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Veniamin Kondratyev, did not publicly comment on Ukraine’s new attack on Tuapse. Congratulations on May 1 appeared on his Telegram channel; the governor wished the residents of the region that peace, goodness and prosperity would always reign in their homes.
Ukraine has been regularly striking Tuapse in recent weeks.Since April 16, drones have repeatedly attacked the Tuapse marine terminal and the local oil refinery, which is part of the same complex as the terminal. Large-scale fires broke out in the city and took several days to extinguish . The last fire at the refinery was extinguished on April 30, on the eve of a new strike.
Due to fires at oil facilities, the environmental situation in Tuapse has deteriorated significantly: the city experienced “oil rain” several times, oil spills were found in the river and sea (they continue to be collected). During the latest refinery fire, boiling oil spilled onto a nearby street.
Permian. Firefighters continue to extinguish fires that broke out in Perm and the surrounding area as a result of two strikes on Transneft and Lukoil facilities on April 29 and 30, respectively.
The local telegram channel “Perm 36.6” published photos and videos that show that the sky over the city is filled with black smoke. According to journalists, the wind has changed direction and now the smoke is heading towards the southern regions of the Perm Territory. “Residents of Perm felt some relief: the stink either stopped or became less,” write the authors of the channel. At the same time, “oil rain” continues in Perm.
In terms of scale and consequences, the environmental disaster in Perm is comparable to what happened in Tuapse, environmentalists told the Agency. One of them said on condition of anonymity that smoke and “oil sludge” contain “the most harmful substances - polyaromatic hydrocarbons,” including benzene, a first class carcinogen.
Another expert said that the fires in the Perm Territory “could be even stronger, and therefore more dangerous than the fires in Tuapse.” “This is exactly the same fire that was in Tuapse, I believe that the toxic and carcinogenic substances in the air there are the same,” the co-chairman of the environmental group “Ecodefense!” told the Agency! Vladimir Slivyak.
The governor of the Perm Territory, Dmitry Makhonin, announced on May 1 that he had visited the site of a fire extinguishing at a certain industrial site (it is unclear whether this is a refinery or an oil pumping station). The head of the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Urusov, reported that the fire had been localized.
The governor claims that Rospotrebnadzor continues to constantly monitor air quality: “Samples are taken regularly, and no excesses of pollutants have been recorded. There is no threat to residents."
Ukraine has been consistently targeting oil facilities in Russia in an effort to prevent the Kremlin from receiving money to wage war. According to Bloomberg, in April Ukraine carried out the maximum number of attacks on oil facilities since December 2025. In just one month, according to agency estimates, Ukraine launched at least 21 strikes on Russian oil refineries, offshore facilities and oil pipeline infrastructure.
In April, as Bloomberg writes, nine Russian refineries stopped their work. The average output of Russian oil refineries fell to 4.69 million barrels per day, the lowest level since December 2009, according to oil analytics firm OilX.
World
Relations between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and allies have deteriorated due to the fact that the European Union opposes Ukraine’s rapid entry into the bloc, the Financial Times newspaper writes , citing sources.
According to sources, senior Ukrainian officials used the summit of EU leaders in Cyprus to criticize the European Commission over the pace of the bloc's expansion and demand that Ukraine's accession be accelerated.
At the summit, as sources told the newspaper, several EU leaders tried to lower Zelensky’s expectations. “He had to hear some hard truths. It won’t be as easy as he thinks,” one of the interlocutors said.
Several EU diplomats said that with the US ending direct military and financial support to Ukraine and the peace process long stalled, the EU remains Kyiv's most important partner. "We're the only friends he has, so it's probably best for him to keep his mouth shut," one official said.
War in photographs. Odessa
On the night of May 1, the Russian Armed Forces attacked Odessa using attack drones. The attack caused fires in two apartment buildings. According to authorities, five people were injured, and 25 residents sought psychological help. The attack also damaged infrastructure at the port of Odessa.
War through the eyes of Meduza readers
How we choose letters
Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.
Vladimir (Ekaterinburg) . On Saturday morning [April 24], my family was suddenly awakened by a large explosion and the house shook. I reassured my pregnant wife as best I could, and we went out onto the balcony - a cloud of smoke was rising from the house opposite. No one asked “what happened.”
Somewhere in the depths of my soul, I reassured myself that Yekaterinburg was far away, and the war would never reach us, and that my son would not have to explain in the morning what that loud bang was. Well, in the fifth year of the conflict, this Rubicon has also been passed.
Unfortunately, no one will be better off because of what has just happened - those gloating in Ukraine will continue to be bombed, the zietniks will only intensify their hatred of the enemy, and opponents of the war will get even more tired of it.