Ukrainian drones hit Ilsky and Perm refineries as fires and shutdowns test Russia’s fuel network
Ukrainian long‑range drones have struck Russia’s Ilsky and Perm oil refineries, causing fires and a shutdown at one of the country’s largest plants, according to Ukrainian, Russian and Reuters reports.
Two major Russian refineries have come under Ukrainian drone attack, exposing weak spots in the fuel system that supports both Russia’s military and civilian economy.
In Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, Ukrainian long‑range drones struck the Ilsky Oil Refinery, Ukrainian sources reported. Fires broke out at the facility. The refinery has six primary refining units and annual capacity of about 6.6 million tons of crude. It produces diesel, gasoline, fuel oil and bitumen, and Ukrainian assessments say its products support Russian military logistics in the Southern Military District and in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Local Russian authorities also reported damage. The governor of Krasnodar Krai said overnight that two unnamed enterprises had been hit. Local reports pointed to strikes on the Ilsky refinery in the Seversky district and on the nearby Afipsky refinery. At Ilsky, a fire was reported at the Seversky site, which had previously been targeted on 8 August. There were fatalities and injuries, though detailed casualty figures were not yet available by early 26 September.
Further north, Russia’s Perm oil refinery, described as one of the country’s largest, halted operations after a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire and damaged pipelines, storage facilities and processing units, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. A shutdown at a large refinery forces operators to reroute crude and refined products, disrupting a fuel flow that underpins transport and other basic activity.
For people living near these plants, drone strikes carry immediate physical risks. Burning fuel and damaged storage tanks can generate toxic smoke and secondary explosions that threaten workers and surrounding communities.
Operationally, facilities like Ilsky and Perm are important links in Russia’s internal logistics. They receive crude from pipelines, turn it into usable products and send diesel and fuel oil on to depots that supply trucks, trains, armored vehicles and power generation. Damage to tankage or process units can create bottlenecks, while extended shutdowns force fuel to move from more distant refineries.
Ukrainian security and military officials have repeatedly indicated that refineries and other fuel infrastructure inside Russia are priority targets because of their role in sustaining the invasion. Long‑range drones give Ukraine a way to reach refineries hundreds of kilometers from the front.
For Moscow, the attacks underscore how difficult it is to defend a spread‑out network of refineries, terminals and depots. Each successful hit raises the question of whether Russia will divert more air‑defense assets away from front‑line areas to cover key industrial sites.
The key variables now are how long Ilsky and Perm stay partially or fully offline, how effectively Russia can compensate with supplies from other refineries, and whether follow‑on Ukrainian strikes expand the campaign to more fuel targets. Public statements from Russian energy companies, fresh local reports of refinery fires, and satellite imagery of damage will help show whether these are isolated incidents or part of a broader effort to squeeze Russia’s fuel lifeline.
Sources
- OSINT