Smoke and fire rose over Ryazan as drones hit Rosneft’s largest refinery overnight – the third strike on the key facility in less than three months.
Pavel Malkov, head of Russia’s Ryazan region, reported that debris from Ukrainian drones caused a fire at one of the enterprises overnight.
“Falling debris caused a fire at one enterprise. According to preliminary reports, there are no casualties, and material damage is being assessed,” Malkov wrote on Telegram, adding that air defense forces allegedly destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones over the region.
The Russian Telegram channel Astra reported that the strike targeted the Ryazan Oil Refinery, Russia’s largest Rosneft facility. After explosions rocked the area, law enforcement blocked access to the site.
The Ryazan Oil Refinery, owned by Rosneft, has an annual capacity of 13.8 million tons and supplies fuel to the Moscow region and other areas.
According to the monitoring channel Supernova+, based on video footage, the fire broke out near the refinery’s catalytic cracking and hydrotreating unit.
The report added that the refinery had been operating with one large unit, which may have now been “finished off.”
This marks at least the third Ukrainian strike on the Ryazan refinery since August. On Aug. 2, the plant reportedly shut down two of its three primary refining units after an attack, and on Sept. 5, one more unit was taken offline, according to Reuters sources.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed its air defenses destroyed or intercepted 139 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 22 over Belgorod, 21 over Voronezh, 14 over Ryazan, and 13 over Rostov regions.
In its 2:25 p.m. report, the General Staff of Ukraine confirmed that in the early hours of Oct. 23, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit the Ryazan Oil Refinery - “a strategic enemy facility involved in supplying the Russian Armed Forces.”
According to the report, multiple explosions were recorded in the area, followed by a large-scale fire on the refinery’s territory.
“The refinery’s capacity exceeds 17 million tons of oil per year and plays an important role in supplying fuel to enemy military formations and logistical chains of the occupying forces. The disabling of part of the plant’s production facilities reduces the Russian army’s ability to conduct combat operations,” the General Staff said.
The report also noted that Ukrainian strike drones hit a Russian ammunition depot near the town of Valuyki in the Belgorod region overnight.
“According to preliminary information, the target was destroyed, and secondary detonations and explosions of ammunition were observed,” the General Staff added.
As Kyiv Post has already reported Wednesday, Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia, hitting an explosives plant in Mordovia and an oil facility in Dagestan.
Mordovia’s head, Artyom Zdunov, said the republic came under a “massive drone attack” early Oct. 22, damaging an industrial site. Astra identified the target as the Saransk Mechanical Plant – part of the state defense conglomerate Rostec – which produces gunpowder, rocket fuel and pyrotechnics.
Located about 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, Mordovia is one of the deepest points inside Russia yet struck by Ukrainian drones. The region was first targeted in April 2024.
Farther south, drones also reached Dagestan on the Caspian Sea coast, nearly 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine. Regional head Sergey Melikov said an enterprise was hit but gave no details.
According to Supernova+, the Dagnefteprodukt oil transshipment complex – the largest in the North Caucasus – was likely the target. Other Russian channels suggested the Dagnotech oil refinery instead. Both were formerly owned by ex-Dagestan state secretary Magomed-Sultan Magomedov before being nationalized.
The overnight assault followed another wave of deep strikes on Oct. 19, when Ukraine targeted oil and gas facilities in Samara and Orenburg regions, 1,000-1,500 kilometers from the front line.
Ukrainian drones reportedly hit the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery and the Orenburg gas processing plant, causing fires and damage to key units, according to official and local reports.
Since August, Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure, hitting refineries and pipelines across the country. Bloomberg estimates that nearly one-third of Russia’s refining capacity has been affected.
The US under President Donald Trump has reportedly shared intelligence to help Kyiv target Russian oil sites in a covert effort to pressure Moscow into negotiations.
By early October, the strikes had shut down about 38% of Russia’s oil refineries, triggering fuel shortages and forcing authorities to impose gasoline and diesel sales limits in multiple regions.
The disruption has led to gasoline shortages in 57 regions, with Russia halting exports and turning to imports from Belarus, China, and other Asian suppliers.
Fuel prices have also surged – Rosstat recorded a 2.58% increase in September, the sharpest monthly rise since 2018, and a 12.73% annual growth rate, the highest in 14 years.