Drones hit one of Russia's five largest oil refineries, sparking multiple fires

A drone threat alert was issued in Russia's Yaroslavl region shortly before the explosions. Local residents later began reporting loud blasts and a fire at the refinery.

ASTRA analysts examined photos and videos shared by eyewitnesses and determined that the fire broke out at the Slavneft-YANOS refinery on Moskovsky Prospekt. Local residents reported at least three separate fires on the facility's premises.

According to one media outlet, Russian radar systems detected up to 150 drones.

The Yaroslavl Oil Refinery has been operating since 1961 and processes around 15 million metric tons of oil annually, or approximately 300,000 barrels per day. It is owned by Slavneft, which is jointly controlled by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.

The refinery produces gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, aviation kerosene, lubricants, and other petroleum products. Fuel from Yaroslavl is supplied to Russia's Central and Northwestern regions, as well as the Moscow region. Its customers include airports and Russian military-industrial facilities.

Over the past week, Ukraine's Defense Forces have been systematically targeting Russia's oil refining industry. According to OSINT analysts, Ukraine knocked out 10% of Russia's oil refining capacity in just three days by attacking three major refineries.

The first in this series of strikes targeted the Novokuibyshevsk Oil Refinery in the Samara region, which was hit by drones overnight on October 30. The facility is part of the Rosneft group, processes around 8.8 million metric tons of oil annually, and produces, among other things, jet fuel for Russian military aircraft.

The following night, drones attacked an industrial zone in Ufa, home to the Bashneft-Novoil refinery, which has an annual processing capacity of around 7 million metric tons.

Then, on November 1, a massive fire broke out following a strike on the Kstovo Oil Refinery in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region.