Ukraine targeted one of Russia's largest oil refineries during an overnight drone attack on Russia's Yaroslavl region on August 6.
According to Astra, one of the fires broke out at the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery. The facility is among Russia's five largest refineries and has the capacity to process up to 15 million tonnes of crude oil annually.
The refinery is the main refining asset of Slavneft, whose shares are controlled on a 50-50 basis by Rosneft and Gazprom.
The plant has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones. In 2026 alone, it has reportedly been attacked six times—on July 16 and July 6, May 22 and May 8, April 26, and March 28. Previous strikes forced the refinery to suspend operations on several occasions because of damage.
Ukraine has significantly intensified its campaign against Russia's oil refining sector this year. According to the Financial Times, citing satellite imagery and analysis by S&P Global, around 26 Russian refineries have been put out of operation during 2026. As of late July, only eight had returned to full operations, at least 11 had partially restored production, while seven remained offline.
According to EA Analytics, Russia's oil refining output has fallen to 3.6 million barrels per day, its lowest level since May 2002. The decline has contributed to a domestic fuel shortage, prompting the Russian government to ban fuel exports, increase gasoline imports from Belarus by 25 times, begin purchasing fuel from India and Morocco, and relax fuel quality standards for producers and suppliers.
