Ukrainian Drone Strike: Volgograd Oil Refinery Ablaze

A fire erupted at Russia’s Lukoil-operated Volgograd oil refinery early Wednesday following a drone attack, Russian officials and monitoring groups reported. The attack, which involved multiple drones, triggered explosions across the city and surrounding areas, according to eyewitness accounts shared on social media.

Andrey Bocharov, the governor of Volgograd Oblast, stated that damage was reported at a facility in the South Volgograd region, confirming the refinery was the target. He also claimed that an apartment building and a kindergarten sustained damage, though no casualties were reported. “Emergency services and municipal authorities are conducting search and rescue operations to locate and dispose of possible drone debris,” Bocharov added.

The Russian Defense Ministry asserted it had intercepted 48 Ukrainian drones overnight, though it did not specify whether any were downed over the Volgograd region. Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the incident.

The Volgograd refinery, a key asset of Russian oil giant Lukoil, processes more than 15 million tons of oil annually, specializing in the production of gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and other petroleum products. This marks the first reported drone strike on the facility this year, according to the Telegram channel Exilenova+, but not the first attack since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. OSINT analysts indicate This represents at least the ninth strike targeting the refinery since February 2022.

A drone alert was declared in the Volgograd region around 9:00 PM Kyiv time on February 10, leading to the closure of Volgograd airport by Rosaviatsiya. Residents reported hearing loud explosions in various districts of the city shortly before midnight. Footage of the fire quickly circulated online, with monitoring channels confirming the refinery as the target.

The attack on the Volgograd refinery follows a series of similar incidents targeting Russian oil infrastructure. On January 1, Ukrainian forces struck the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, and on January 26, infrastructure at an oil refinery in Sloviansk-na-Kubani was targeted. The Volgograd refinery is located approximately 354 kilometers (220 miles) from Ukraine’s eastern border and 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory near Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast.

As of Wednesday morning, Russian authorities had not issued a comprehensive statement regarding the extent of the damage or the ongoing response to the attack. The refinery remains ablaze, and the situation is developing.