Ukraine Strikes Yaroslavl Oil Refinery and Six Russian Aircraft at Rostov Airfield

Ukrainian forces struck the Yaroslavl oil refinery and a Russian military airfield in the Rostov region in a series of coordinated operations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on September 17.

According to Zelenskyy, the overnight strike on the Yaroslavl refinery was carried out jointly by Ukraine’s Security Service, Unmanned Systems Forces, Defense Intelligence, and Foreign Intelligence Service.

Russian independent outlet Astra, Russian authorities subsequently confirmed damage to the refinery. Yaroslavl region Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said fires had broken out at the facility and emergency crews were working to extinguish them. 

Yevrayev added that falling debris shattered windows in several apartment buildings and damaged vehicles in Yaroslavl.

Astra, citing its OSINT analysis, identified the affected facility as the Slavneft-YANOS refinery. According to the media, the plant processes approximately 15 million tons of crude oil annually and is among Russia’s five largest refineries.

The facility produces a range of petroleum products, including Euro-5 gasoline and diesel, aviation kerosene and jet fuel, lubricants, bitumen, liquefied gases, and fuel oil. The refinery is the main processing asset of Slavneft, which is jointly controlled by Russian energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom.

The Yaroslavl strike was part of a broader series of Ukrainian operations overnight. Zelenskyy also reported that the SBU carried out a strike on a military airfield in Russia’s Rostov region, with confirmed hits on one An-12 transport aircraft, two An-26 aircraft, and three helicopters.

“I thank our warriors, who make Russia feel the war every day,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president also pointed to what he described as “good results” from operations in the Black Sea.

The attacks come in response to continued Russian strikes on Ukraine, including attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure. On September 17, Russian forces carried out an overnight missile attack on Kyiv, leaving at least 20 people injured, including two children, and causing damage to buildings and infrastructure in several districts of the Ukrainian capital.

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