In brief

• Drones attacked Omsk, Siberia, on November 11, and the regional governor confirmed air defenses were engaged.
• The Omsk refinery, owned by Gazprom Neft and with capacity above 21 million tonnes a year, is the presumed target.
• Independent confirmation of damage to the refinery is lacking, and Ukraine had not officially commented at the time of reporting.

Attack reported in Omsk

Regional governor Vitaly Khotsenko confirmed that air defenses were repelling a drone attack on the Omsk region on the afternoon of November 11 (Letisko v Omsku je zatvorené. Ukrajinské drony opäť útočili na Sibíri, pravdepodobne na najväčšiu rafinériu – HNonline.sk) (УСУ зноў атакавалі найбуйнейшы расійскі НПЗ у Омску – Nasza Niwa). Residents reported loud explosions in several districts of the city, and in some buildings windows reportedly shook (Беспилотники атаковали Омск. Предположительно, целью стал крупнейший в стране НПЗ – The Insider) (Омський НПЗ горить після атаки дронів — що відомо (відео) – TSN). The governor urged people not to gather near the attack site or film and post footage.

Refinery in focus

Ukrainian monitoring channels said the likely target was the Omsk refinery, which belongs to Gazprom Neft and has a design capacity of more than 21 million tonnes of crude a year (Атакований НПЗ в Омську, один з найбільших у Росії: монітори повідомили про пожежу – UNIAN) (Дрони атакували найбільший у Росії НПЗ в Омську, на підприємстві вирує пожежа – Espreso). Company figures cited in the reports say the plant produces about one in six litres of Russian gasoline and diesel of the Euro-5 class (Дрони уразили найбільший російський НПЗ за 2500 км від України – Українська правда). Videos circulating online show a glow and a column of smoke over the industrial zone, and at least one clip was geolocated to a neighborhood roughly 10 km from the plant.

The quality of the footage has so far made it impossible to confirm independently that the refinery itself was hit. Local civic groups have made the same point.

Local disruption

Air raid sirens sounded in the city, mobile internet and some phone service were restricted, and Omsk airport halted departures and arrivals. Attacks lasted several hours, with reports of explosions continuing into the evening.

Earlier strikes

This was not the first attack on the facility. Ukrainian drones hit the Omsk refinery in early July, after which the plant temporarily suspended operations, and struck again in early October. Later in October, drones also hit other industrial sites in the city's northern hub, including a rubber plant and an Ozon warehouse.

What remains unclear

No official Ukrainian statement on the November 11 strike was available at the time of reporting (Более чем в 2500 км от Украины: дроны несколько часов наносят удары по крупнейшему НПЗ России – focus.ua) (Украинские дроны снова атаковали Омский НПЗ — крупнейший в России – airpress.kz). Russian authorities have not published details of casualties or damage to the refinery.

Read also

• Drones Strike Kirishi Refinery in Leningrad Region, Fire Reported at KINEF
• Drones Strike Ufa Refinery Zone; Fire Reported at Bashneft-Novoil
• Ukrainian drones cut about a third of Russian refining capacity, Reuters reports