War

'Explosions and fire recorded' — Russia's Orsk oil refinery hit in Ukrainian strike, General Staff says

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'Explosions and fire recorded' — Russia's Orsk oil refinery hit in Ukrainian strike, General Staff says
Smoke rises from an oil refinery in Orsk, Russia, reportedly damaged in a Ukrainian attack on Nov. 11, 2025. (Supernova+ / Telegram)

Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in Russia's city of Orsk, Orenburg Oblast, the General Staff reported on Nov. 11.

An airstrike alert was issued in the region ahead of the attack, prompting the closure of airports in Orsk and Orenburg.

Russia's Defense Ministry reported shooting down a drone over the area, while local governor Yevgeny Solntsev confirmed that an industrial facility had been hit, without specifying which one.

According to the General Staff, the attack targeted Orsknefteorgsintez, a refinery that produces over 30 types of petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, and oils.

The facility, which supplies the Russian army, is designed to process 6.6 million tons of oil per year.

Explosions and a fire were reported at the refinery following the attack. Preliminary information indicates that one of the primary oil processing units was struck. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, the General Staff said.

This marks the second attack on the oil refinery, which was previously targeted on Oct. 3 — the first confirmed strike against the facility since the onset of the full-scale invasion.

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A video reportedly showing the aftermath of a Ukrainian attack on an oil refinery in Orsk, Russia, on Nov. 11, 2025. (Supernova+ / Telegram)

Ukraine has regularly targeted oil refining facilities in Russia to disrupt operations, hamper fuel supplies to the military, and strike at one of the Kremlin's main sources of war financing.

Ukraine also attacked an oil refinery in Russia's Saratov Oblast and several targets in Russian-occupied territory earlier in the day.

During a nighttime operation, Ukrainian forces targeted fuel tanks at the Sea Oil Terminal in Feodosia, located in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Meanwhile, partially Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast also came under attack, with Ukrainian drones striking a Russian military warehouse and a troop concentration near the village of Ocheretyne.

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Kateryna Hodunova

News Editor

Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

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