Ryazan Oil Refinery Halts Operations Following Ukrainian Drone Attacks

In Russia, the Ryazan Oil Refinery has halted operations following Ukrainian drone strikes on January 24 and 26, according to Reuters, citing its own sources.

The sources reported that a storage facility at the refinery caught fire during the attacks. Among the damaged infrastructure are a railway loading rack and a hydrotreating unit, which is used to remove impurities from refined products.

“The railway loading equipment has been damaged. There have been no railways loadings, they stopped oil processing,” one source stated.

Another source confirmed that the refinery ceased operations as of Friday, January 24.

On January 26, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported a strike on Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refinery. The attack was carried out by units of Ukraine's Drone Systems Forces and the Main Intelligence Directorate. Governor Pavel Malkov said air defenses intercepted several drones. Russian authorities reported destroying 15 drones overnight, including eight over Ryazan.

Two days earlier, on January 24, the refinery had already been targeted in a drone strike by Ukraine's Special Operations Forces and the Security Service of Ukraine.

The Ryazan Oil Refinery is among Russia’s four largest, with an annual processing capacity of 17 million tons of oil. According to Ukraine's General Staff, the refinery is crucial to Russia's military logistics, producing essential supplies such as diesel fuel and TS-1 jet fuel.

Previously, Russia’s Bryansk-based plant ‘Kremniy El,’ which produces microelectronics for missile systems, suspended operations after an overnight drone attack, according to Russian media on January 24.