Russia

Russian oil refinery in Ryazan reportedly targeted in drone attack

• 2 min read
Russian oil refinery in Ryazan reportedly targeted in drone attack
The view of Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery. (Wikipedia)

Russia's Ryazan oil refinery was reportedly targeted in a drone attack overnight on Nov. 5, with videos circulating on social media appearing to show explosions and a large fire near the facility, according to Telegram monitoring channels.

The Exilenova+ Telegram channel reported that drones had reached the industrial area of the refinery, one of Russia's largest oil processing facilities.

Footage shared online purportedly shows Russian air defenses operating, followed by a powerful explosion and a bright glow illuminating the night sky. Other videos appear to show flames and thick smoke rising from the area.

The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the footage or confirm whether the refinery sustained damage.

At the time of publication, Russian authorities had not confirmed a strike on the refinery. Ryazan Oblast Governor Pavel Malkov had not commented on the reported incident.

The Ryazan refinery, operated by Russia's state-controlled oil giant Rosneft, has an annual processing capacity of around 17 million metric tons of crude oil. Located roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukraine, the facility produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other petroleum products.

The refinery has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months.

Following an attack on Oct. 15, the facility reportedly suspended operations at one of its main crude distillation units, Reuters reported, citing industry sources.

Ukraine has continued its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure in an effort to disrupt fuel supplies and undermine Moscow's ability to finance its war against Ukraine.

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Olena Goncharova

Special Correspondent

Olena Goncharova is the Special Correspondent for the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

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