Drone attack sparks blaze at oil refinery in Russia's Volgograd, Russian official says
Editor's Note: This is a developing story.
An overnight drone attack struck a refinery in the Russian city of Volgograd, causing an oil spill and fire on the premises, Volgograd Oblast Governor Andrey Bocharov claimed on Aug. 14.
"Tonight, the air defense forces of the Russian Defense Ministry repelled a massive UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack on the territory of Volgograd Oblast," Bocharov said.
"As a result of falling debris, oil products spilled and caught fire at the Volgograd Oil Refinery. Firefighters quickly began extinguishing the fire."
Preliminary information indicates there are no casualties, Bocharov said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims at the time of publication.
The Volgograd refinery, owned by Russian oil giant Lukoil, has been targeted multiple times throughout the full-scale war. Russian media and officials reported attacks on the facility in both February and March 2025. Ukraine's General Staff confirmed a drone strike against the refinery in January.
Ukraine regularly launches long-range drone attacks on industrial and military facilities in Russia. Oil refineries, which fund and fuel Moscow's war machine, are frequent targets of these strikes.
Three Russian refineries have cut or suspended operations this month due to damage sustained from Ukrainian drone attacks, according to media reports. Bloomberg reported that a Rosneft facility in Saratov Oblast halted oil intake after a strike on Aug. 10.
Russia's Ryazan refinery also decreased its production by half while the Novokuibyshevsk refinery halted production completely on Aug. 2, Reuters reported.
