Drones hit Volgograd oil refinery, queues form at petrol stations

Drones carried out a large-scale attack on the Russian city of Volgograd and the surrounding Volgograd region overnight on 13 November. A fire broke out at the local oil refinery, which belongs to the company Lukoil. It is one of the largest refineries in Russia and supplies oil products to the country's southern regions.

What monitoring channels and officials say

Monitoring channels, including Exilenova+, reported that drones struck the refinery and a strong fire erupted in the industrial zone. Later, further explosions were heard in the area around the facility.

Volgograd region governor Andrey Bocharov confirmed the drone attack. He said that falling debris from unmanned aerial vehicles caused local fires at an industrial facility in the southern part of the city.

Queues at filling stations

According to the news outlet ASTRA, local residents are reporting queues at petrol stations following the overnight attack and the fire at the Lukoil refinery. Videos and photos showing the queues for fuel have appeared on social media. The queues began to form while the drone attack was still under way.

About the refinery

The Volgograd refinery has operated since 1957 and has a capacity of about 14.8 million tonnes of crude oil per year. It produces petrol, diesel and aviation fuel, fuel oil, petroleum coke, bitumen and base oils.