Russia's Ryazan oil refinery suspends operations after drone strike, Reuters reports

The Ryazan Oil Refinery in Russia has suspended operations due to damage from Ukrainian drone attacks, Reuters reported on Jan. 27, citing two industry sources.

Ukraine confirmed hitting the plant in an overnight drone strike on Jan. 24.

Oil storage facilities caught fire during the attack, sources told Reuters. The strike damaged a railway loading track and a hydroeater unit, which removes impurities from refined products.

"The railway loading equipment has been damaged. There have been no railways loadings, they stopped oil processing," one source said.

Another said the facility suspended all loadings since Jan. 24.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SOS) launched a joint attack against the refinery on Jan. 24. An SBU source told the Kyiv Independent that the strike caused fires at three oil depots and a workshop.

Local residents reported another attack on the plant two nights later, circulating footage of explosions and fires at the site. The Kyiv Independent could not confirm whether the images depicted a new attack or the previous strike.

The Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia's largest, has the capacity to process 17 million metric tons of oil per year. According to Reuters, the facility accounted for nearly 5% of Russia's total refining in 2024.

Kyiv considers oil refineries to be valid military targets, as profits from the fossil fuel industry fund Russia's war machine. Ukraine previously attacked the Ryazan refinery in May 2024.

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The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk