Ukrainian Drone Strike Halts Operations at Volgograd Oil Refinery

A Ukrainian drone attack set fire to the Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia, and the plant has been forced to halt operations. The strike took place overnight into 13 November, during Russia's war against Ukraine. The report that the refinery had stopped working came from the Ukrainian war-monitoring channel "Exilenova+".

The channel posted several videos showing a fire at the refinery. A post on the social network X said more than 400 Ukrainian drones had attacked Russia overnight and that the Volgograd refinery was in flames, pointing to multiple fires at the site. These figures come from the social media post, and the source offers no independent confirmation.

Queues at filling stations

The independent Russian outlet "Astra", citing local residents, reports that queues formed at filling stations in Volgograd after the drone strike and the fire.

Role of the refinery

The Volgograd refinery is one of the largest in Russia. It produces petrol, diesel and aviation fuel, fuel oil, petroleum coke, bitumen and base oils. The plant supplies petroleum products to Russia's southern regions, so a shutdown could affect fuel supplies in that area.

The sources do not say how long the refinery will remain out of action or how severe the damage is.