Russian journalist detained while reporting on aftermath of oil refinery drone strike

Russian journalist Anastasia Troyanova, a correspondent for the independent media outlet Kedr, was detained on Tuesday while reporting from the city of Tuapse, where a Ukrainian drone attack had sparked a fire at an oil refinery for the third time in two weeks.

Troyanova’s whereabouts were unknown for two hours after her detention. She initially managed to tell her colleagues only that she was being restrained by a man in plainclothes wearing a cap that read “M24” in the style of the Moscow TV network Moskva 24. Representatives of the station said they did not have employees working in the city at the time.

Kedr later reported that Troyanova had been taken to a local police station and was being questioned. The outlet did not say the reason for her detention.

Troyanova had been reporting on the aftermath of the recent Ukrainian drone strikes on the Tuapse Refinery. Earlier on Tuesday, Kedr published her photos of smoke columns from the ongoing fire at the facility.

The first drone attack on the refinery occurred on the night of 16 April, sparking major fires that continued for days. Another attack came on 20 April, sparking new fires that continued until 24 April, according to local authorities. After the earlier strikes, environmental monitors recorded dangerous levels of air pollution, and local residents reported black, thick “rain” falling from the sky.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev announced evacuations and a state of emergency after the latest strike.