In brief

• Drones struck the Ryazan refinery in central Russia, and a fire broke out at the plant.
• Reports describe the plant as having a capacity of 17 million tonnes of crude per year and a role in supplying the military.
• The strike follows recent attacks on the Yaroslavl refinery and a refinery in Krasnodar Krai.
• No official Russian confirmation of the damage has been published.

Ryazan refinery under drone attack

The Ryazan oil refinery in central Russia came under drone attack, and a fire broke out at the plant. Ukrainian outlets reported the strike as one of several in a renewed campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, which had continued despite pressure from Washington to scale back such attacks (Секретний дронопорт: як розносять російські НПЗ, а Кремль втрачає мільярди – TSN).

According to the reports, the refinery has an annual capacity of 17 million tonnes of crude and plays a central role in supplying fuel to the military. Ukrainian reporting describes the strike as a further attack on the facility, suggesting repeated strikes rather than a single incident.

Wider pattern of strikes

The Ryazan attack came days after Ukrainian drones targeted the Yaroslavl refinery, which reportedly was hit at least 13 times and supplies fuel to military aviation and armored units in the Central Military District. Separately, a refinery in Krasnodar Krai was reported to be on fire on 6 November after a drone attack, with local residents describing explosions and air defense activity (Дрони атакували великий НПЗ у Краснодарському краї: почалася пожежа, - ЗМІ – UNIAN).

Ukrainian analysts have argued that refineries are easier to hit than defense plants, which are farther from the front and often better hidden, and that defense targets generally require missiles (Виробництво балістики створює ризики для України: експерт пояснив, в чому проблема – UNIAN). Commentators have also said Ukraine's strikes have become more accurate in recent weeks (Україна почала точніше бити по російських НПЗ: експерт пояснив, що змінилося – UNIAN).

Russian response

Russian enterprises have begun buying machine-gun turrets to protect themselves against drones, according to Ukrainian reporting that cited a military publication. Buyers reportedly include a Surgut airport and the port at Ust-Luga (Росія зобов'язала підприємства захищатися від українських дронів власними силами – UNIAN). An aviation expert also argued that many targets deep inside Russia have little or no air defense cover left ("Будуть сліпі і глухі": експерт розповів, скільки російської ППО вибила Україна – UNIAN).

What we still do not know

The available reports do not give an official Russian confirmation of the damage at Ryazan, nor a full assessment of how long output has been halted.

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