Russia’s strategic oil facility erased from Yandex maps
Russia's search engine Yandex has been ordered by a court to remove maps and edit images of workshops, compressor stations, tank farms, and other elements of a major oil refinery from Yandex Maps due to drone attacks, the TASS propaganda agency reported on Jan. 3.
While the specific refinery is not named, it was reportedly attacked four times in 2024 by alleged Ukrainian drones, resulting in "damage to infrastructure and injuries to employees."
Prosecutors argue that information about this "strategically important facility" should not be freely available. This court decision marks the first time that a Russian multinational IT company has been ordered to remove photos and maps of a defense industry facility from the public domain.
On Dec. 19, in an overnight drone attack on an oil refinery in Novoshakhtinsk, Rostov Oblast, the Crude Oil Distillation Unit (CDU) was reportedly hit and set on fire. The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery has been targeted at least four times since Russia's full-scale invasion began, including three times in 2024.
Russia has 30 large and medium-sized refineries, not including several small plants, capable of processing 5.5 million barrels per day, making it one of the world's largest fuel exporters.
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