Ukraine Hits Giant Russian Refinery Again—Moscow Claims 124 Drones Joined the Raid

A major fire broke out at Russia’s Yaroslavl oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack, with footage showing multiple fires burning across one of the country’s five largest refining complexes, according to the Exilenova+ OSINT community on November 3.

Drone warnings were issued in Yaroslavl at around 3:20 am Moscow time.

Photos and videos from the aftermath showed several separate fire zones across the refinery, with flames spreading over a significant section of the industrial site.

Yaroslavl Region Governor Mikhail Yevrayev claimed Russian electronic warfare and air-defense systems had confronted 124 Ukrainian drones during the attack. Despite those efforts, he acknowledged that refinery infrastructure was damaged.

If the Russian figure is accurate, the raid would be the largest drone attack on the Yaroslavl refinery by number of UAVs in 2026.

The Slavneft-YANOS refinery is among Russia’s five largest oil-processing facilities, with an annual capacity of roughly 15 million metric tons of crude.

The plant produces gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, and other petroleum products supplied primarily to Russia’s central and northwestern regions.

The refinery has repeatedly come under drone attack. Russian officials say the facility has been targeted at least four times in 2026 alone.

Earlier this year, Yevrayev acknowledged the frequency of the strikes, saying the refinery was “effectively on the front line” and was being attacked continuously.

The previous major strike came on September 17, when a fire also broke out at the refinery. Damage from that attack later forced the facility to halt crude processing.

Previously, reports emerged that Ukrainian drone strikes targeted three major Russian oil refineries over three consecutive nights, hitting facilities that together account for approximately 10% of Russia’s total oil refining capacity.

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