Ryazan refinery suffers major damage in overnight drone strike - Russian media
A significant fire engulfed the primary oil refining unit at the Ryazan oil factory in Russia following a nighttime drone attack, according to reports from the Russian Telegram channel Astra on May 1.
The attack, which occurred last night, resulted in one of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) crashing into the ELOW-ATT, a crucial oil processing unit at the refinery. Russian authorities have not reported any casualties from the incident.
Primary processing units, vital components of oil refineries, are custom-built to specific enterprise needs and can cost tens of millions of dollars. These units are essential for separating crude oil into various fractions through the use of pressure, temperature, and catalysts within distillation columns.
Ryazan refinery attack and similar operations
Attack on Ryazan Oil Refinery was a special operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, intelligence sources told RBC-Ukraine. They confirmed damage to refinery.
Read also: Russia requests 100,000 tons of gasoline from Kazakhstan amid refinery attacks — report
At night, Russian media reported that a massive fire broke out at refinery as a result of UAV attack and published relevant videos.
Governor of Ryazan Oblast, Pavel Malkov, confirmed that oblast was attacked by UAV and claimed that one drone had been shot down.
Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that a total of six Ukrainian drones were allegedly intercepted last night.
Read also: Russia starts to protect its oil refineries with anti-drone nets
Previous strike on Ryazan refinery was reported on March 13. It is Rosneft's largest plant. Two primary oil refining units were shut down back then, Reuters reported, citing sources. This refinery processes about 4.6% of Russia's total oil output, and a significant portion of its products is exported. Capacity of this refinery is 17.1 million tons of oil per year.
Since the end of January, Ukraine has been regularly striking oil refineries in Russia with long-range drones. In total, Security Service carried out at least 13 successful attacks on Russian refineries, according to SBU Head Vasyl Malyuk. According to him, as a result, oil production and refining in Russia decreased by 12%.
Read also: Russia's Ryazan oil refinery ablaze after apparent drone strike - video
Politico reported that Russia was running out of gasoline as a result of drone attacks on refineries on April 30. It is noted that diesel prices for Russian consumers have risen sharply. Over the past week alone, they have risen by almost 10%. Gasoline prices have also risen by more than 20% since the beginning of the year, Politico writes.
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