Russian oil plant suspends operations after drone attack
An oil refinery near the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don has temporarily suspended operations following a drone attack, regional Governor Vasily Golubev announced on Wednesday.
Several other oil plants in Russia were also targeted by Ukrainian UAVs on the same day, in Ryazan and Leningrad Regions. On Tuesday, Kiev also conducted drone raids on refineries in Oryol and Nizhny Novgorod Regions.
According to Golubev, on Wednesday morning, three Ukrainian drones were brought down over the Novoshakhtinsk refinery after they were suppressed using electronic warfare systems.
He reported that there were no casualties or injuries to any personnel in the incident, but that the plant’s operations have been paused while the consequences of the attack are assessed.
The Novoshakhtinsk Petroleum Plant, which is located around 100km from the regional capital, Rostov-on-Don, is the largest supplier of petroleum products in the area and is the only oil refinery in Rostov Region. It previously came under attack in June 2022 when a Ukrainian UAV struck a crude oil tank, causing a fire.
Also on Wednesday, Ryazan Region Governor Pavel Malkov reported that four fixed-wing drones rammed into a local oil plant around 200km from Moscow. The crash caused a fire at the facility, which has since been put out. According to TASS news agency, citing local health officials, two people were admitted to the hospital after the attack.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s official Telegram channel, a total of 58 drones were intercepted in the early hours of Wednesday in six Russian regions. Throughout the day, the ministry reported that several more Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed.
On Tuesday, the Russian military reported that it intercepted another 25 UAVs over seven regions, with one drone crashing into an oil facility in the western city of Oryol, around 250km south of Moscow.
The Defense Ministry has described the Ukrainian drone raids as “terrorist attacks.”
