Drone strike sparks big fire at Russia's Yaroslavl oil refinery
Drones hit the Slavneft-YANOS refinery in Yaroslavl, Russia, in the early hours of Tuesday, sparking a large fire and injuring two workers, officials said.
Update ·
Governor says 124 drones targeted the refinery in the overnight attack.
Drones struck the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl, Russia, in the early hours of Tuesday, sparking a large fire and injuring two employees, regional governor Mikhail Yevraev said, with the attack also reported by independent Ukrainian and Belarusian monitoring outlets.
Yevraev said on Telegram that 124 drones targeted the refinery and that its infrastructure was damaged, with emergency crews working to put out the blaze. He said two employees suffered shrapnel wounds and were hospitalised. Debris from downed drones also broke windows in several nearby apartment blocks and private houses and damaged residents' cars, he said.
The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ and the independent outlet Astra reported that drones hit the refinery overnight, with local residents describing three separate fires in the industrial zone at first; Astra later said witnesses and footage showed five large and two smaller blazes at the site, according to Latvian broadcaster TVNET.
Slavneft-YANOS is one of Russia's five largest oil refineries, processing about 15 million tonnes of crude oil a year, Astra reported. It is jointly controlled by state-owned companies Rosneft and Gazprom Neft and makes petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other products that supply the Moscow region, including Russia's armed forces, TVNET reported.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the refinery as part of a campaign against Russian oil infrastructure. Ukraine's General Staff said a strike on 17 September damaged the plant's AVT-3 crude-processing unit, according to the Kyiv Independent. The Kyiv Independent reported that Ukrainian monitoring channels described the Tuesday strike as part of the same campaign, though Ukraine's military did not immediately comment on this latest attack.
The strike on Yaroslavl was one of several reported on Russian energy sites that night; Russia's defence ministry said separately that its shot down 856 drones overnight across 13 regions and occupied , without saying how many got through, TVNET reported.
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What we know
- Official · Governor Mikhail Yevraev Drones struck the Slavneft-YANOS refinery in Yaroslavl in the early hours of Tuesday, Governor Mikhail Yevraev said.
- Official · Governor Mikhail Yevraev Yevraev said 124 drones targeted the refinery during the attack.
- Official · Governor Mikhail Yevraev Two refinery employees were wounded by shrapnel and hospitalised, Yevraev said.
- Official · Governor Mikhail Yevraev Debris from downed drones broke windows in nearby apartment blocks and private homes and damaged cars, he said.
- 1 outlet · The Kyiv Independent, Fontanka.ru Witnesses reported five large and two smaller fires at the refinery, according to Astra.
- 2+ outlets · The Kyiv Independent, Meduza +1 The refinery processes about 15 million tonnes of crude oil a year and supplies fuel to the Moscow region, including the military.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Figure history
PremiumSee how the casualty figure in this story changed (1 change), when, and who gave each number.
Claims in this story
Claims tracker →- UnverifiedRussia's defence ministry· 3 Nov 2026
Russia's defence ministry said its air defences shot down 856 drones overnight across 13 regions and occupied Crimea.
Why it matters for Europe
Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian refineries this year to cut fuel supplies and reduce Moscow's ability to finance the war, and Yaroslavl, about 250km north-east of Moscow, has become a repeat target after the September strike on the same plant. The refinery's role in supplying fuel to the Moscow region and the Russian military makes it a recurring target for Kyiv's campaign against the energy sector that funds the war.
Updates
·
Governor says 124 drones targeted the refinery in the overnight attack.
First published.
Sources
Reported by 14 reports from 13 independent outlets in 8 countries.
- The Kyiv Independent: Russian oil refinery in Yaroslavl reportedly struck, multiple fires reported
- Postimees: Venemaa naftatöötlemistehast Jaroslavlis tabas droonirünnak
- Fontanka.ru: Атака на НПЗ в Ярославле: начался пожар, есть раненые
- Zerkalo: В российском Ярославле более 100 дронов атаковали НПЗ
- 15min: Rusijos Jaroslavlio naftos perdirbimo gamyklai smogta dronais
Source balance
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Intelligence file
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Confidence and impact scores, 8 more sources, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Questions and answers
- What was hit?
- Drones struck the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl, Russia, damaging its infrastructure and sparking a fire, the regional governor said.
- Were there any casualties?
- Yes. Two refinery employees were wounded by shrapnel and taken to hospital, according to Governor Mikhail Yevraev.
- How significant is this refinery?
- It is one of Russia's five largest, processing about 15 million tonnes of crude oil a year and supplying fuel to the Moscow region and the armed forces.
This article was written with AI assistance from 13 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.