Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery in Saratov

On the night of January 14, Ukrainian attack drones hit an oil refinery in Saratov.

A video of the fire from eyewitnesses among local residents was published on the Russian Astra Telegram channel.

Roman Busargin, the governor of the Saratov region, also confirmed the UAV attack. He claimed that it resulted in “damage to an industrial enterprise.”

Russian Telegram channels reported that the oil depot of Rosrezerv’s Kristall plant in Engels, a town near Saratov, was probably hit again.

It stores fuel for Russian Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers. The previous strike on this aviation fuel storage facility took place on January 8, and only on January 13 did the Russians manage to extinguish the fire on its territory.

Local residents claimed that there were about five explosions in Engels. They also allegedly heard air defense systems operating. However, since these two settlements are located nearby, the explosions could have been heard in Saratov.

In the morning, a video was posted online showing a man filming a burning enterprise and saying that it was the Saratov oil refinery after the drone attack on January 14.

NASA satellites also recorded a fire in the area of this Russian enterprise.

This oil refinery in Russia has already been attacked by Ukrainian attack drones before. As a result of the strike on the night of November 8, 2024, a fire broke out at the enterprise, which local residents filmed.

It was reported that the UAVs had probably hit a fuel oil tank and one of the special installations.

The Saratov oil refinery is known as the Cracking plant, is part of the Russian oil company Rosneft and is located in the Zavodskoy district of the city. The design capacity of the enterprise is 7.0 million tons of oil per year.

The day before, the Ukrainian Defense Forces also launched a missile attack on a Russian chemical plant in the Bryansk region that produces explosives and ammunition.