Russian refineries halt operations after Ukrainian strikes as another burns in Yaroslavl
Two Russian oil refineries have halted operations following Ukrainian drone strikes, while another refinery caught fire in an overnight attack on Sept. 17, as Ukraine continues targeting Russia’s oil-processing infrastructure.
The Syzran refinery in Russia’s Samara region stopped processing crude after a Ukrainian drone attack on Sept. 15 damaged its main crude distillation unit, Reuters reported, citing industry sources.
The damaged CDU-6 unit, with a capacity of 17,100 metric tons per day, accounts for about 71% of the refinery’s processing capacity. Repairs could take at least a month, according to Reuters.
Syzran’s second crude distillation unit, which accounts for the remaining 29% of capacity, was already undergoing repairs following an earlier drone attack in July.
The Saratov refinery has also halted crude processing following a drone attack on Sept. 11. The facility had previously stopped operations after another attack on Sept. 8 and had been expected to restart on Sept. 10-11.
Meanwhile, a fire broke out at an oil refinery in Yaroslavl following an overnight drone attack on Sept. 17, regional Governor Mikhail Yevrayev confirmed. He said the fire had been extinguished.
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View in Telegram.Yaroslavl is home to the Slavneft-YANOS refinery, one of Russia’s largest, with annual processing capacity of around 15 million metric tons of crude oil.
Separately, Russian and Ukrainian monitoring channels reported explosions and possible secondary detonations at a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don overnight. OSINT channel ASTRA reported that part of the airbase near an aircraft parking area appeared to be on fire.
Rostov region Governor Yuri Slyusar confirmed a large-scale drone attack but did not report damage to the airbase. He said Russian air defenses had intercepted 50 drones and that falling debris damaged a transformer substation and caused power outages in several areas.