Ukraine’s December Drone Strikes Forces Shutdown of Major Russian Oil Refinery

Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery has suspended operations after equipment was damaged in a drone attack on December 25, The Moscow Times reported on December 30.

Both primary crude distillation units at the refinery, which has an annual capacity of 5 million tons and is one of the largest plants in southern Russia, were forced to shut down following the strike. The facility is located in Russia’s Rostov region.

The Novoshakhtinsk plant became the sixth Russian refinery targeted by drone attacks in December and the second to halt operations as a result.

Earlier this month, on December 15, drones also forced the shutdown of the Slavneft-YANOS refinery in Yaroslavl, about 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow and among Russia’s five largest oil-processing facilities.

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War in Ukraine

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Ukrainian forces sharply intensified drone strikes on Russia’s refining sector in November, launching at least 14 attacks on oil plants—surpassing the previous record set in August, when 12 refineries were hit.

At least three facilities were forced to suspend fuel production, including Rosneft’s Ryazan refinery, Russia’s third-largest by capacity and a key supplier for the Moscow region, The Moscow Times wrote.

Previously, it was reported that Ukrainian forces carried out two separate long-range strikes inside Russia, targeting a military airfield near Maykop in the Republic of Adygea and a major oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region, according to official statements from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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