Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The attack caused damage to the facility and nearby homes, leaving one civilian dead.
Explosions lit up the night sky over southern Russia after Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a drone strike on the Volgograd oil refinery on November 6, according to Russian media and local officials.
Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed the strike in a Facebook post on November 7, saying the refinery’s annual processing capacity is about 15.7 million tons — roughly 5.6% of Russia’s total refining capability.
“Explosions and fires were recorded in the target area,” the post stated.
Local residents shared videos of air defense systems firing and bright sparks above the refinery, though no large fires were immediately visible.
The reports have not been independently verified.
Civilian killed
Regional governor Andrey Bocharov said several houses and a residential building were damaged.
“A civilian, a 48-year-old man, died from shrapnel from the bombing,” Bocharov wrote on Telegram.
Bocharov confirmed that a fire broke out in an industrial zone in Volgograd’s Krasnoarmeysky district following the attack. The city lies about 354 kilometers from Ukraine’s border and 500 kilometers from areas under Ukrainian control in Donetsk Oblast.
Expanding drone campaign
Local officials reported that the strike on Volgograd came amid a broader drone assault across the region.
The Lukoil-operated refinery, roughly 450 kilometers from the front line, is considered a key supplier of fuel to Russian military units.
The facility has previously been forced to halt operations due to similar attacks.
In the Kostroma region, further north, explosions were reported at a thermal power plant in Volgorechensk, about 275 kilometers northeast of Moscow, according to the Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+.
The site is more than 740 kilometers from Ukraine’s border, suggesting a deep-penetration drone operation.
Crimea also targeted
In occupied Crimea, another explosion hit a Russian oil depot in Bitumne near Simferopol, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported.
The extent of the damage there remains unclear.
Kyiv has intensified long-range drone strikes on Russian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent months. The campaign aims to weaken Moscow’s energy revenues, which continue to fund its invasion of Ukraine.
Sources: Reuters, BBC, AP, Ukrainian General Staff (Facebook), Telegram channels Exilenova+ and Crimean Wind.
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation
