Volgograd Refinery Shut Down After Drone Attack by Ukrainian SOF

Special Operations Forces attacked the Russian oil refinery facility Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka in the Volgograd region.

The press service of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine reported on this.

On the night of September 18, 2025, the agency’s units struck the Russian oil refinery, which, according to preliminary information, led to its shutdown.

Specialized Russian monitoring resources confirm the attack, reporting the arrival of at least 11 long-range drones between 00:00 and 2:00 am. In particular, the drones were reported to have been shot down in the Krasnoarmeyskiy district, where the company’s facilities are located.

At the same time, local residents did not publish any footage of a fire or smoke on the territory of the plant, which may indicate that there was no damage to infrastructure and oil tanks.

The NASA FIRMS satellite network, which monitors thermal anomalies and fires, did not detect any sources of thermal radiation at the plant at the time of publication. And during the day, it was recorded in only one place – around the flare pole, where by-products of refining are burned.

In the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, this refinery is probably one of the most long-suffering facilities in the Russian energy sector. Between March 2024 and September 2025, Ukrainian forces launched 12 attacks on Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka facilities.

All the attacks were carried out by groups of long-range drones and targeted oil tanks, primary processing facilities, and pipelines.

The attacks have become more intense this year, with nine attacks in nine months, four of which took place in the last two months.

The constant impact on the company’s operations had to seriously disrupt its cycle due to the need to restore and eliminate flammable substances. This is important as the Volgograd refinery is the largest producer of fuels and lubricants in the Southern Federal District of Russia.

According to publicly available data, before the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka had facilities that could process 15.7 million tons of oil annually. This is 5.6% of all oil refining in Russia.

On the same day, September 18, the Ukrainian military successfully attacked the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery in Bashkortostan, causing a large-scale fire on the territory of the enterprise.