Ukraine hits 2 Russian oil refineries in latest deep strike drone attack, Zelensky says

Ukrainian drones struck two oil refineries deep inside Russian territory overnight on Aug. 6, including a large refinery in Yaroslavl Oblast hit for the second night in a row, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed after reports first emerged in local media.

Videos emerging online the morning after showed a large-scale fire at the Slavneft-Yanos oil refinery in Yaroslavl, over 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Footage shared by Yaroslavl residents on Aug. 6 showed plumes of smoke rising over the city during an overnight drone attack. The independent Russian Telegram news channel Astra analyzed the footage using geolocation and determined that the Slavneft-Yanos refinery was on fire.

Another smaller refinery was hit further east in Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, Zelensky reported, over 1,300 kilometers from the front line.

"Today, our long-range sanctions once again worked to limit Russia’s oil revenues, which it uses to finance the war and the killing of Ukrainians," the president wrote on Facebook.

Yaroslavl Oblast Governor Mikhail Yevrayev announced earlier in the night that Ukrainian drones were attacking the region. As a result, traffic restrictions were imposed on roads leading to Moscow.

The closure affected the road out of the city from the intersection of the Southwestern Ring Road and Moskovsky Prospekt, where the refinery is located. Yevrayev made no mention of the refinery and has not reported on any consequences of the attack.

Residents have also reported fires at some homes in the city following the strikes.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the damage to the facilities.

The Yaroslavl plant is the largest oil refinery in the central region and one of the five largest in all of Russia. Its products include gasoline and diesel fuel, jet fuel, liquefied gases, and fuel oil, and other petroleum products. The facility boasts an annual crude oil processing capacity of around 15 million metric tons.

The latest reported attack comes just one night after Zelensky reported a successful Ukrainian strike against the Slavneft-Yanos refinery on Aug. 5.

The Yaroslavl refinery has also come under fire in previous strikes, including four separate attacks in May 2026 alone.  

Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" campaign against Russian oil infrastructure has led many refineries to suspend or halt production, exacerbating the energy crisis that has choked fuel supplies across the country.