- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine’s Drones Hit Rosneft’s Ryazan Refinery, Knocking Out 5% of Russia’s Oil Output
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukrainian drones struck Rosneft’s Ryazan Oil Refining Company overnight, hitting one of Russia’s four largest refineries, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, confirmed on September 5.
The strike was carried out by the “Zhalo Ptakhiv ” UAV unit of the 14th UAV Regiment, working together with Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, military intelligence (HUR), and other branches of the country’s defense forces. Photos and videos of the attack were shared by Telegram channels Supernova+ and Astra.
The refinery strike and a fuel depot in occupied Luhansk also came under attack during the same night, Brovdi wrote.
Ryazan, oil refinery pic.twitter.com/zPgRIovWvp
— Exilenova+ (@Exilenova_plus) September 4, 2025
The target was reportedly the ELOU-AVT-6 unit, a critical installation used for primary crude oil processing. This system removes water and salts from crude to prevent equipment corrosion, followed by atmospheric and vacuum distillation to produce key outputs like gasoline, gasoil, and fuel oil.
With a nominal capacity of 6 million tons per year—and up to 15 million tons after modernization—the system is a central part of the refinery’s operations.
The Ryazan refinery processes around 13.1 million tons of crude annually (~262,000 barrels per day), roughly 5% of Russia’s total refining capacity, according to industry data.
Local residents reported a large fire at the facility after the drone strike. Images and video circulating on social media showed flames rising from the refinery complex.
The governor of Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, claimed Russian air defenses shot down eight drones overnight, saying debris fell on an industrial site and that “the consequences are being eliminated.”
Earlier, reports emerged that Russia’s Ust-Luga oil export terminal was set to operate at only around 350,000 barrels per day in September—roughly half its normal capacity—after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged pipeline infrastructure.
