Russian oil refinery remains ablaze for third straight day after hit by Ukrainian drones

Russia's Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery stands engulfed by flames for the third consecutive day after Ukrainian drones hit the facility earlier this week.

Novoshakhtinsk is Rostov Oblast’s only refinery and ranks among southern Russia’s largest, reported Euromaidan press, with locals uploading several videos of the facility being continuously ablaze on social media.

On August 23, Rostov's region minister of housing and communal services, Antonina Pshenychnaya on his Telegram announced disruption in water supplyin Krasny Sulin, near Novoshakhtinsk. “Water will resume once reservoirs are refilled and the water pipeline is tested,” he wrote.

Selling fuel mainly for export, the facility has an annual capacity of 5 million metric tons of oil, or around 100,000 barrels per day, the report added.

Since the start of August 2025, Ukraine launched multiple attacks on several Russian oil refineries including Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran, Ryazan and Volgograd.

The armed forces of Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attacks on its official Telegram handle.

Ukraine's drones hit oil refineries including Russia's Saratov region in an overnight drone attack on August 10, Unecha pumping station on August 13, a refinery in the Volgograd region on August 14, and the Syzran oil refinery in Samara on August 15.