Major Russian oil refinery reportedly struck in Ukrainian attack
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The Afipsky Oil Refinery, one of the largest oil processing facilities in southern Russia, was struck in an overnight drone attack, Russian Telegram channels reported.
The refinery in the Krasnodar Krai region is one of the largest oil processing sites in southern Russia, producing gasoline, diesel fuel, gas condensate distillates, heavy petroleum residues, and sulfur. The facility processes roughly 6.25 million tons of crude annually — about 2% of Russia's refining output — and has been targeted in previous Ukrainian attacks.
Photos and videos posted to social media by local residents purport to show a large fire at the refinery. Air raid alerts were active in the Krasnodar Krai amid the attack.
Also in Krasnodar Krai, the Afipskaya railway station suspended operations following the attack, according to Russia's Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office.
Two people were killed and two others injured in the attack, Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said. A railway station, an oil refinery, and residential buildings were damaged, according to the governor.
Elsewhere in Russia, active air defenses were also reported near the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia's Rostov Oblast, although no damage to the facility was immediately reported.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses shot down 148 aerial targets across Russia and over the Black and Azov seas.
The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the reports. Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reported attack.
The extent of the damage caused was not immediately clear. While it was not immediately known what weaponry was used in the attack, Kyiv's forces regularly launch long-range drone strikes on refineries in Russia.
Ukraine has targeted oil refineries and other energy facilities in Russia as a means to disrupt fuel supplies to the Russian military and reduce revenues financing Moscow's war against Ukraine.
In recent months, the frequency of attacks on oil refineries has slowed, with Ukraine shifting its focus to Russia's e-commerce industry, targeting Wildberries and Ozon facilites.
On Aug. 22, Ukrainian forces struck the Novokuibyshevskyi oil refinery as well as an Ozon logistics center in Samara Oblast.
