Drones Strike Russian Oil Refinery in Yaroslavl

Strike drones targeted a Russian oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl on the morning of May 19.

Local residents reported the strike, and the Exilenova+ Telegram channel published a video of the attack.

Later, Yaroslavl Region Governor Mikhail Evraev announced that an industrial facility had been hit and caught fire, but did not specify which one.

He reported a massive morning drone raid on the region and said Russian air defense systems were responding to the attack.

“Most of the drones were shot down, but an industrial facility was hit. Emergency services are working to extinguish the fire. There were no casualties,” Mikhail Evraev wrote on Telegram.

The likely target of the drones was the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery, although it is possible that another facility was also attacked.

Yaroslavl Oil Refinery

The Slavneft-YANOS refinery is the largest oil-processing enterprise in Russia’s Central Federal District. Its facilities can process up to 15 million tons of oil per year.

The oil refinery is the main processing asset of Slavneft, a company whose shares are almost entirely jointly owned by Rosneft and Gazprom.

The plant produces a broad range of petroleum products, including gasoline, jet fuel, and industrial lubricants.

Its products are supplied to major businesses across central and northwestern Russia, as well as airports, the Northern Railway Administration, and facilities linked to Russia’s military-industrial sector.

Ukrainian drones have repeatedly attacked this Russian oil refinery before. In particular, after a strike on the night of May 8, a large fire broke out on its premises.

Additional strikes also took place on April 26 and March 28 this year. The plant is located more than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian state border.