Drone Strike Sparks Fire at Oil Refinery in Volgograd

In Volgograd, Russia, a fire broke out at the Lukoil oil refinery following a nighttime drone attack.

The incident was reported by Astra and confirmed by the regional governor, Andrey Bocharov.

Bocharov described the event as a large-scale drone assault targeting the Volgograd region.

“On the south side of Volgograd, debris from a UAV caused a fire on the roof of one of the buildings of Hospital No. 16 as well as on the territory of the oil refinery. Firefighters are working on-site to contain and extinguish the fires. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties,” the official wrote on Telegram.

On the night of August 19th, the residents of the city reported hearing explosions followed by a fire in the area.

Photos allegedly showing the fire caused by the drone attack were also published online.

The facility in question is the Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka oil refinery, which has previously been targeted by drone strikes.

Additionally, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) reported the temporary closure of the local airport.

On the night of August 14th, Ukrainian strike drones hit this oil refinery, causing a large-scale fire.

Following the attack, Astra sources reported that the plant’s operations had been suspended due to the damage.

By the afternoon of August 16th, the residents of Volgograd noticed a large column of smoke rising from the oil refinery. According to unconfirmed reports, the fire may have been caused by a technical accident during repair work to address the aftermath of the attack.

The Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka oil refinery is the largest producer of petroleum products in the Southern Federal District of Russia and the seventh-largest refinery in the country by capacity. The plant’s designed capacity is 14.8 million tons of oil per year.