Ukrainian drones carried out a large-scale overnight attack on Russia’s southwestern Saratov region on the evening of Wednesday, March 4, with explosions reported near an oil refinery and other facilities, according to Russian officials and local reports.
Three people were injured and several buildings were damaged in the attack, Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said on Telegram, according to The Moscow Times.
Busargin said that windows were shattered in several social institutions and residential buildings, and repair work would begin shortly.
Russia’s aviation authority closed Saratov airport for about six hours overnight amid the attack.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted 33 Ukrainian drones over Saratov region and a total of 76 across the country overnight.
Local residents in Saratov and nearby Engels reported hearing more than 60 explosions, according to Russian media and monitoring channels, describing the strike as one of the largest drone attacks on the region since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The likely target of the attack was the Rosneft oil refinery in Saratov, a major supplier of gasoline and diesel fuel for Russia’s European partners, Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova+ reported. A video published online appeared to show a drone hitting a structure believed to be part of the refinery complex.
A post on local Telegram channel Nastoyashchy Saratov said air defenses were firing in the Zavodskoy district of the city, a few hundred meters from the refinery, and that drone debris fell outside residential areas.
Ukraine has targeted the refinery repeatedly throughout the war. In December 2025, Busargin said that one such attack had sparked a fire at the facility and killed two people in a nearby apartment building.
Residents also reported power outages in parts of Saratov and Engels during the latest strike, with local social media users describing flickering lights and temporary disruptions to electricity supply.