A port in southern Russia will suspend exports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) — a highly explosive substance — due to an increased number of attacks on areas bordering Ukraine, Reuters reported Friday, citing insider sources.
Taman, a port in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, is located near the annexed Crimean peninsula. Its transshipment complex has a capacity of 20 million tons of cargo per year.
“Taman is suspending LPG transshipment as it is dangerous after all those [drone] attacks — the gases are most explosive,” Reuters cited an anonymous source with knowledge of the situation as saying.
The outlet’s sources did not specify when LPG operations would be suspended at the Black Sea port, which also servers shipments of oil from Kazakhstan, though the halt is expected to be “indefinite.”
Shipments of LPG from Russia and Kazakhstan from the Taman port amounted to 328,000 tons last year.
Russia’s southern regions have come under increased shelling in recent weeks, leading to multiple deaths and infrastructure damage, while drone attacks on energy facilities have been reported in both southern and western regions of the country.
Moscow has consistently blamed Ukraine for the attacks, which come ahead of an expected counteroffensive, while Kyiv has denied having a role.