On the night of November 13, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the General Staff, carried out a strike on one of Russia's largest oil refining enterprises—the LUKOIL-Volgogradneftepererabotka plant in Volgograd. A massive fire broke out on the premises of the facility, according to the military. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the General Staff.
What was damaged at the plant
According to the General Staff, the capacity of the Volgograd refinery is about 15 million tons of oil per year; the plant produces gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. The report indicates damage to several objects: primary oil refining units AVT-1, AVT-3, AVT-5, and AVT-6, a hydrotreating unit, a loading and unloading rack, as well as six storage tanks with a volume of 2,000 cubic meters each.
Significance of the facility for the Russian army
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine characterizes the Volgograd refinery as one of the key fuel supply points for the Russian army in the south: they claim that fuel is shipped directly from here to the front lines and to airfields from which, according to the military, planes take off for strikes against Ukraine. They also note that every hour of the plant's downtime reduces volumes of diesel and jet fuel, as well as Russia's revenues, which, according to their assessment, are directed toward the production of missiles, suicide drones, and explosives.
Confirmations and on-site footage
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Telegram "further precise long-range operations," noting that oil facilities in the Samara and Volgograd regions had been struck over the past 24 hours, and that operations had been conducted against airfields, enterprises, refineries, and an ammunition depot in several regions. Eyewitnesses, in turn, published footage of open flames and thick smoke over the plant's territory against the backdrop of Russian air defense activity.
Context: a series of strikes on the oil refining industry
Since the end of October, according to the Ukrainian military, the Defense Forces have been systematically targeting Russia's oil refining industry: over several days, it is reported that the Omsk, Kirishi, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Yaroslavl refineries were struck, as well as a number of other objects, specifically the Saratov and Novokuibyshevsk ones. The General Staff emphasizes that the strikes are being carried out within the framework of, in their wording, "systemic damage to the military-economic potential" and the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
