A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Saratov refinery, operated by Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft, halted oil intake from Sunday according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The Saratov refinery was hit by Ukrainian drones overnight on Sunday, Aug. 10, sparking fires and a huge plume of smoke. Concerned locals recorded the images and shared them on social media.
Saratov Regional Governor Roman Busargin wrote on Telegram that drones had hit “one of the industrial enterprises” but did not confirm that the refinery had been damaged.
Busargin also said that several residents had sought medical assistance after the attack and that one person had been killed.
The Saratov refinery is located in the Volga region, around 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border and has a design processing capacity of about 140,000 barrels of crude a day.
It is the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and other facilities linked to oil production, as Ukraine seeks to hit Russia where it hurts by reducing its ability to export oil and finance its war machine.
Last week, the Ryazan plant, which processes 13.7 million metric tons of crude annually and is also operated by Rosneft, halved its refining capacity following a Ukrainian drone attack on Aug. 2, according to a Reuters report.
In recent days, Ukrainian drones have also reportedly struck refineries in Krasnodar and the Komi Republic.