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Drones Hit Major Yaroslavl Refinery, Sparking Fires at One of Russia’s Largest Plants
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Drones struck the Yaroslavnefteorgsintez refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl overnight, setting off fires at one of the country’s largest oil-processing plants, according to Militarnyi on March 28.
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The facility, also known as Slavneft-YANOS, is located in Yaroslavl, about 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Open-source footage and local reports indicated multiple impacts on the refinery, while Russian officials acknowledged a drone attack on the region without confirming damage at the plant itself.
The refinery is one of the largest in Russia and can process more than 15 million tons of oil per year.
Analysts cited in Ukrainian reports noted that fires were visible in at least three separate areas of the site, including near what appeared to be processing infrastructure and the tank farm used to store finished products and intermediate components.
👀 Drones flew over one of Russia’s largest oil refineries overnight.
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) March 28, 2026
Ukraine’s Defense Forces also struck the Promsintez explosives plant in Russia's Samara region, monitoring channels say. pic.twitter.com/8rjuTyvUIw
Yaroslavl region governor Mikhail Yevrayev stated that Russian air defenses had repelled an attack by more than 30 drones. These numbers cannot be independently confirmed.
Ukrainian and Russian-linked monitoring channels cited by the reports indicated the drones approached from the northwest and flew across the city before hitting the industrial zone, a route that analysts assessed may have been intended to complicate Russian air defense coverage.
A similar strike in winter hit Rosneft’s Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region shortly after midnight, with local residents and the OSINT community reporting a large fire at the facility.
Russian social media channels reported more than 10 powerful explosions over Novokuybyshevsk, while witnesses described bright flashes in the sky consistent with air defense activity after authorities declared a drone threat across the region.
By morning, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed 64 drones had been intercepted overnight, including 20 over Samara region, while the extent of damage remained unclear at the refinery, which processes about 8.8 million metric tons annually.
