Ukrainian drones have set one of Russia’s largest oil refineries ablaze.
The Slavneft-YANOS refinery in the city of Yaroslavl erupted in a major fire after an overnight attack on Tuesday, with photos and videos showing at least seven fire sites, five large and two smaller, according to the independent Telegram channel Astra.
Yaroslavl Governor Mikhail Evraev wrote on social media that the strike damaged the refinery’s infrastructure and that two plant employees sustained shrapnel wounds.
He said “debris” from downed drones also shattered windows in several apartment buildings and private homes and damaged cars. As many as 124 drones aimed at the city were shot down.
The attack closed traffic for several hours on the road from Yaroslavl to Moscow, and public transportation routes were changed.
The refinery is Russia’s fifth-largest by capacity, able to process up to 15 million metric tons of oil a year, and has been attacked by Ukrainian drones repeatedly.
It is part of a wave of attacks stretching from late October into early November. According to the International Energy Agency, Ukraine has launched more than 300 attacks on Russian refineries this year, successfully striking more than two dozen. Over the weekend, Ukraine set the Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod ablaze and hit a refinery in the Samara region.
Ukraine claims to have knocked out half of Russia’s refining capacity this year, causing fuel shortages for Russian forces on the front line. Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer, yet its imports hit record levels in August, and it has banned aviation fuel exports.
It adds to the blowback Russian President Vladimir Putin faces over his Ukraine campaign, with inflation spiking at home and long lines of motorists pictured at gas stations amid the fuel crisis.
The Kremlin confirmed Tuesday that Russia will hold three-way peace talks with Ukraine and the U.S. in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 10 and 11.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, will serve as Moscow’s chief negotiator.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Monday that the United States would bring together delegations from Ukraine and Russia to discuss post-war security agreements and de-escalation. U.S. negotiators have been seeking a breakthrough in the war, now in its fifth year. The last U.S.-mediated talks took place in February, before the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran.
