Ukraine Targets Russia’s War Fuel Supply With Strikes on Two Oil Refineries

Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out overnight strikes against two Russian oil refineries and a military observation post on an offshore drilling platform in the Black Sea, targeting infrastructure used to support Russia’s war effort, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on August 8.

According to the General Staff, the operation hit the Ilsky Oil Refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, the Syzran Oil Refinery in the Samara region, and a technical observation post located on the Syvash self-elevating drilling platform in the Black Sea. Ukrainian military officials said fires were recorded at both refinery sites following the strikes.

The General Staff said the Ilsky refinery, located in Krasnodar region, has six processing units with a total annual refining capacity of approximately 6.6 million metric tons. The facility processes crude hydrocarbons into petroleum products, including fuel that Ukrainian officials say is used to supply the Russian military.

The Syzran refinery, operated by Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft, has a design capacity of around 8.5 million metric tons of crude oil per year.

According to the General Staff, the plant manufactures more than 20 petroleum products, including motor fuels and bitumen, and is among the key refining facilities serving Russia’s Samara region and military fuel requirements.

Separately, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian technical observation post installed on the Syvash self-elevating offshore drilling platform in the Black Sea. According to the General Staff, the platform has been used by Russian forces to deploy surveillance equipment and maintain monitoring capabilities over the maritime area.

Satellite fire detection data from NASA’s FIRMS system and videos circulating on social media indicated fires at the Syzran refinery following the attack. Local Russian monitoring channels also reported dozens of explosions overnight before images of the blaze emerged. Regional authorities in Krasnodar acknowledged a fire at the Ilsky refinery, attributing it to falling drone debris.

Two days earlier, Ukrainian forces struck the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Russia’s Bashkortostan region and the Slavneft-YANOS refinery in Yaroslavl region as part of Kyiv’s expanding long-range strike campaign. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the operations were aimed at reducing Russia’s oil revenues used to finance the war.

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