Ukraine strikes Russia's Ilsky oil refinery, causing fire, General Staff confirms
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Ukrainian forces struck Russia's Ilsky oil refinery overnight on Sept. 26 in Krasnodar Krai, sparking a fire at the facility, Ukraine's General Staff said.
Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said the strike on the oil refinery, located approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) from where the Ukrainian drones were launched, was carried out by the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces and the 414th Unmanned Systems Brigade, better known as "Madyar's Birds," along with other Ukrainian military units.
Ukraine's Fire Point said the refinery halted operations following an FP-1 drone attack.
According to the company, the strike damaged three primary oil-processing units and a tank farm, forcing the refinery to suspend operations.
Russian and Ukrainian monitoring channels reported explosions in the area of the refinery as the drone activity continued overnight.
Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratiev confirmed that drones attacked the Seversky district, where the refinery is located, and claimed there were fatalities and one person seriously injured.
Kondratiev said drone debris also damaged a residential building and that fires had broken out at two enterprises in the district. He did not identify the facilities.
Independent Russian outlet ASTRA said its analysis of eyewitness footage showed that one of the fires was at the Ilsky refinery.
The facility, located roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory, is one of the largest oil-processing facilities in southern Russia, producing nearly 6.6 million tons of fuel annually.
The refinery has been targeted repeatedly by Ukrainian forces throughout the full-scale war. By June, the refinery had been struck at least 16 times, according to the Russian independent outlet ASTRA.
Ukraine's General Staff confirmed a strike on the Ilsky refinery on June 2 that caused a major fire. Ukrainian forces struck the facility again on Aug. 8, with the General Staff reporting a hit followed by a fire on the refinery grounds.
Krasnodar Krai, a strategic region along Russia's Black Sea coast, has increasingly come under Ukrainian drone attacks as Kyiv extends the range of its strikes deep into Russian territory.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in an effort to disrupt fuel supplies to the Russian military and reduce revenues used to finance Moscow's war.
