Ukrainian Drones Strike Russian Oil Refineries in Southern Regions

Ukrainian long-range drone strikes targeted the Afipsky Oil Refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region on August 25, sparking a massive fire and disrupting local transport infrastructure.

The facility processes approximately 6.25 million tons of crude oil annually, accounting for roughly 2% of total refining output in Russia. Regional emergency services reported that the assault forced the nearby Afipskaya railway station to suspend operations.

Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed that two people died and two others were injured during the attack. The strike caused visible damage to the oil refinery, local railway facilities, and nearby residential structures.

Russia's Defense Ministry stated that air defense units intercepted 148 aerial targets across the country, as well as over the Black and Azov seas. Russian air defenses were also active near the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Rostov Oblast, though no immediate damage was reported there.

The strike follows a separate Ukrainian drone attack on August 21 that disabled the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez plant in Perm for the second time this year. That plant ranks as Russia's seventh-largest refinery by volume.

Industry sources confirmed that the Perm attack shut down a primary crude distillation unit representing 40% of the facility's capacity. A secondary primary unit, representing 34% of capacity, has remained offline since July 29 after earlier spring strikes forced an initial operational halt.

Repeated strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have disrupted fuel supplies to military units and deepened a nationwide summer fuel crisis, triggering rising gasoline prices and regional sales rationing across Russia.