Drones attacked one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the Yaroslavl region early on Tuesday morning, May 19.
Yaroslavl Oblast Governor Mikhail Yevraev said on Telegram that the region had come under a “hostile attack by Ukrainian UAVs.” He added that traffic was temporarily restricted on the road out of Yaroslavl toward Moscow for security reasons.
He later said most of the drones were allegedly shot down, but confirmed that an industrial facility was hit. The fire is being extinguished by emergency services, and no injuries were reported.
The governor also warned that debris from downed drones could still be found in the area and is being collected for investigation.
Local monitoring Telegram channels reported that the target may have been the Slavneft-YANOS refinery, the sixth-largest in Russia, with an annual capacity of around 15 million tons of oil.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its air defence systems intercepted 315 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over the Yaroslavl region.
The General Staff later said in a Telegram update that the Yaroslavl-3 oil pumping station near the settlement of Semibratovo in Yaroslavl region was hit on May 19.
“The extent of the damage is being clarified,” the statement said.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) also confirmed their participation in the operation.
“Located more than 800 kilometers (497 miles) from the Ukrainian border, the Yaroslavl-3 pumping station is a key hub of the Surgut-Polotsk pipeline, which transports oil from Siberia and northern Russia to the Baltic ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga, and Belarus,” the Special Ops said.
The report added that the extent of damage to the facility, owned by Russia’s Transneft – a key operator in transporting oil products to Baltic ports – is still being assessed.
“The destruction of the enemy’s oil refining and logistics infrastructure reduces its economic capacity to wage war against Ukraine,” the statement emphasized.
Moreover, the General Staff confirmed damage to the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, following a strike on May 18. A fire was reported at the facility, with the extent of damage still under review.
The Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery is one of Russia’s largest oil processing plants and a critical asset for its military-industrial complex. It supplies nearly 30% of gasoline consumed in the Moscow region and provides fuel directly to Russian forces involved in the war against Ukraine.
With an annual processing capacity of 17 million tons, the refinery produces more than 50 types of petroleum products, including aviation fuel and diesel.
Ukrainian Defense Forces had previously struck the same facility in the early hours of April 5.
Meanwhile, in the city of Perm, priests of the Russian Orthodox Church held prayer services and a procession with an icon of the Mother of God, reportedly aimed at protecting the city from drone attacks following strikes on local oil infrastructure.
According to the diocese cited by Komsomolskaya Pravda outlet, the procession took place on May 12 and included stops at “key points” across the city. It was led by Metropolitan Methodius.
“Recently, drone attacks have been announced in our city several times, and in order to get rid of this scourge, the head of the Perm Metropolis held a prayer service,” the diocese said.
Perm, located more than 1,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, has recently seen multiple strikes on energy infrastructure.
On April 29, a linear production and dispatching station linked to the Transneft system was hit, triggering a large fire. The following day, the Lukoil-owned Perm refinery was also attacked.
Subsequent strikes reportedly disrupted operations at the facility, with some processing units taken offline. According to Reuters, key primary processing units were damaged or halted, and repairs could take weeks.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) later confirmed involvement in strikes on Russian oil infrastructure in the Perm region, saying such attacks reduce fuel supplies for the Russian military and force Moscow to divert resources to repairs.