Ukraine Hits Russia’s Diesel Supply and Blinds Military Sites in Crimea

Ukraine’s drone forces have conducted a deep-strike operation against a key oil facility in Russia’s Samara region, damaging the only primary refining unit at the Syzran Oil Refinery—one of Russia’s major diesel fuel producers.

According to Militarnyi, the December 28 attack was carried out by the First Center of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems, targeting both energy infrastructure and oil refining assets in the city of Syzran.

Video footage circulated by Exilenova+ and verified by several Ukrainian outlets shows the moment of impact on the refinery.

Analysts identified the struck facility as the ELOU-AVT-6 unit—a combined electric desalination and atmospheric-vacuum distillation system with an annual processing capacity of 6 million tons of crude oil. This installation is the sole primary refining unit at the Syzran plant.

The refinery is considered strategically important due to its role in supplying diesel fuel to Russia’s domestic market, including military logistics chains involved in operations against Ukraine. The plant produces approximately 2.5 million tons of diesel annually, making it a major component of the fuel supply system for the Volga region.

In addition to the refinery strike, Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted at least one local electrical substation, possibly the 220 kV Syzran substation. Local residents reported temporary disruptions to electricity and heating, which were later confirmed by regional energy service data.

According to Telegram post by Brigadier General Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, additional drone strikes were carried out the same night in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Targets included a Valday radar installation, a command post for a radar reconnaissance system, and a storage and launch base for Russian unmanned maritime vessels in the town of Chornomorske.

Earlier, Ukraine’s military intelligence reported that its special operations unit known as “Prymary” struck multiple Russian air defense systems and military targets in Russian‑occupied Crimea ahead of Christmas.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine on December 25, the operation destroyed components of S‑300V and Buk‑M3 air defense systems, including radar and command vehicles, as well as a fortified structure used to store military equipment.

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