Drone Strike Sparks Fire at One of Russia’s Largest Refineries in Yaroslavl

On the night of December 12, strike drones attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl.

A video from the scene was published by the Exilenova+ Telegram channel, and local residents also reported the attack on the refinery, according to Astra.

According to the reports, Ukrainian drones hit the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery, one of the largest in Russia.

After the strike, a large fire broke out on the premises of the facility.

Reports of the attack on the refinery appeared on social media after 3 a.m. Local residents heard a series of explosions in the area of the plant.

Before this, the region’s governor, Mikhail Yevrayev, had announced a ‘drone threat’, in the area.

Later, videos and photos appeared online showing a fire and a thick column of smoke at the Slavneft-YANOS refinery, located in the city of Yaroslavl, more than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

The capacity of this facility allows for the processing of 15 million tons of oil per year. In terms of primary oil refining volumes, it ranks fifth among Russia’s oil refineries.

The previous report of a fire at the plant after a drone strike came on October 31.

Slavneft-YANOS

The refinery produces a wide range of petroleum products, from automotive gasoline to jet fuel and lubricants.

Among the consumers of the refinery’s products are virtually all major enterprises in the Central and Northwestern regions of Russia, as well as airports, the Northern Railway Administration, and facilities of the military-industrial complex.

In the morning, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that during the night their air defense allegedly shot down 90 drones.