One of the Largest: Drones Attack Saratov Oil Refinery Again

During the night of November 2–3, strike drones hit the Saratov oil refinery – one of the largest operating refineries in Russia today.

The Exilenova+ Telegram channel published footage showing the impact on the refinery.

According to videos released by local residents, the drone strike targeted the area of the AVT-6 unit, which is responsible for desalting and primary oil fractionation and is one of the most important installations at the refinery. Following the impact at the exact coordinates 51.456381820263424, 45.94098155197628, a fire broke out at the site.

According to Dnipro OSINT, one of the drones was aimed at the pentane-hexane fraction isomerization unit, but it failed to hit the target due to an anti-drone net stretched over the area, as seen in the video.

The Saratov oil refinery is currently one of Russia’s largest industrial facilities for oil refining and the production of gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, road and roofing bitumen, vacuum gas oil, and technical sulfur.

The enterprise belongs to the Rosneft corporation. As of 2024, it processed about 5.8 million tons of crude oil, accounting for 2.2% of Russia’s total refining volume.

In total, drones have attacked the Saratov oil refinery seven times in 2025, and despite the distance of more than 700 kilometers to the site, each attack has been successful.