The General Staff of Ukraine confirmed that the Syzran oil refinery in Russia and a Russian command post in the occupied town of Yenakiyevo, Donetsk region, were struck in coordinated attacks, as Kyiv seeks to erode Moscow’s economy with air strikes on energy and infrastructure targets.
According to a statement on Telegram, in the early hours of Friday, Aug. 15, units of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO), in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces, carried out precision strikes on “a number of important objects of the Russian aggressor.”
One of the targets was the Syzran oil refinery in the Samara region – one of the largest in the Rosneft network. The refinery produces a wide range of fuels, including aviation kerosene, and is involved in supplying the Russian armed forces.
“The target was hit, with fire and explosions recorded,” the report stated.
The monitoring channel Crimean Wind described the Syzran refinery as “key for the southern Volga region,” with a design capacity of 8-8.5 million tons of oil per year (about 160–170 thousand barrels per day) and recent output of 6-7 million tons.
The facility serves the Samara, Saratov, and Penza regions, as well as parts of Central Russia, and has access to railway and river transport routes for domestic supply and export via the Caspian Sea.
It produces gasoline, diesel, aviation kerosene, fuel oil, and bitumen – critical for the regional agricultural and transport sectors – and also supplies airfields and military units in Russia’s Central and Southern districts.
According to Crimean Wind, significant damage to the refinery could cause fuel shortages, forcing supplies to be diverted from other plants and increasing logistical costs.
This is the third known attack on the facility, following strikes in 2024 and February 2025.
In the Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces also targeted the command post of Russia’s 132nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 51st Army in Yenakiyevo.
“The target was hit. The results of the strike are being clarified,” the General Staff said.
The strikes are part of an ongoing campaign to erode Russia’s military-economic potential.
According to the General Staff, Ukrainian attacks on Russian enterprises and infrastructure in 2025 have inflicted losses estimated at $74.11 billion – roughly 4% of Russia’s GDP.
Almost 80% of the confirmed targets in Russia have been oil and gas infrastructure, including 42% oil refineries and 37% oil storage facilities. The rest are logistics assets such as pumping stations and export terminals.
Official data shows that most strikes hit targets 500-1,000 km from Ukraine’s borders (39%), with a similar proportion within 500 km, and 10% at a depth of over 1,000 km.
The General Staff did not disclose the weapons used.
As Kyiv Post reported previously, suspected Ukrainian drones struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region early Friday. Residents reported hearing up to 10 explosions from 4 a.m., with videos on Telegram showing fires near the facility.
On Aug. 14, Ukrainian forces hit the Olya seaport in Russia’s Astrakhan region, targeting the Port Olya 4 – a ship reportedly carrying Shahed drone parts and Iranian munitions.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the strike aimed to reduce Russia’s capacity for airstrikes. Olya is a key logistics hub for importing military supplies from Iran.
The refinery and port attacks are the latest in a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy and logistics infrastructure over the past five days.
On Aug. 14, drones hit the LUKOIL-Volgogradneftepererabotka refinery, Russia’s largest in the Southern Federal District, which processes 5.6% of the country’s crude. The strike, carried out by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces and military intelligence (HUR), ignited a massive fire detected by NASA FIRMS satellites.
On Aug. 13, kamikaze drones targeted the Unecha oil pumping station in Bryansk – the main hub of the 9,000-kilometer Druzhba pipeline, vital to Russia’s military-industrial supply.
On Aug. 10, HUR struck the Lukoil-Ukhtaneftepererabotka refinery in the Komi Republic, more than 2,000 km from Ukraine’s border.