Drones paved way for missile attack on Russian oil refinery, says Ukrainian General Staff

It was a combined attack with drones that overwhelmed the enemy's air defense systems in the first stage, creating an opportunity for Ukrainian-made missiles to successfully hit the target, damaging and setting fire to the plant's catalytic cracking unit (CCU).

The unit is a key element in the production of liquefied petroleum gas.

The regional governor, Yury Slyusar, claimed that the oblast had been attacked by three missiles and that the fire at the refinery had been extinguished.

Earlier, Mariupol Mayor advisor Petro Andryushchenko reported more than 40 explosions in the area of the refinery.

“In total, the most massive drone attack took place in Rostov Oblast from 11:15 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Explosions were heard in various districts and cities of the oblast. The air defense systems worked on dozens of targets. UAVs were flying near Rostov, Bataysk and Azov,” he wrote, adding that the refinery was targeted for the fourth time.

On the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that air defenses had allegedly intercepted 84 drones overnight, including 36 over Rostov Oblast, 21 over Bryansk Oblast, 14 over Belgorod Oblast, and the rest over Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov oblasts and Krasnodar Krai. 

In a previous attack in June 2024, the refinery suffered significant damage, resulting in the loss of 1.5 million tons of oil and oil products worth about $540 million. It specializes in the production of fuel oil, heating oil, marine and diesel fuel, and straight-run gasoline and is used to meet the needs of the occupying army. The company's capacity reaches 7.5 million tons of oil per year.

Earlier, shortly after midnight, the Astra Telegram channel and Novoshakhtinsk residents reported the sounds of flying drones, machine gun fire, a series of explosions and posted numerous video of massive fire at the refinery.