Two refineries in the deep rear under attack
On the night of September 13, the Ukrainian Defense Forces, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which provided the data to RBC-Ukraine, struck two oil industry facilities in Russia. One of the targets was the "Slavyansk" oil refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, Krasnodar Krai; the second was the "TANECO" refinery in Nizhnekamsk, Republic of Tatarstan. At both facilities, according to the General Staff statement, fires were recorded. Thus, in a single night, two major refineries located in the deep rear came under attack.
"Slavyansk": capacity and military significance
"Slavyansk" is named one of the largest independent refineries in southern Russia. The facility can process about 5.2 million tons of crude oil per year and produces automotive gasoline, fuel oil, vacuum gas oil, and aviation kerosene. The General Staff specifically emphasized that the plant is involved in supplying the needs of Russian troops, which explains the choice of target within strikes on the enemy's rear infrastructure.
"TANECO" in Nizhnekamsk and the incident in Millerovo
At the "TANECO" refinery in Nizhnekamsk, according to General Staff data, a fire in one of the storage tanks was recorded. In addition to the oil facilities, on the night of September 13 the Defense Forces struck a site for the storage, preparation, and launch of the enemy's strike drones in Millerovo, Rostov Oblast. The General Staff stated that work on key military targets of the enemy continues.
Consequences of the September 11 attack on the Saratov refinery
The same General Staff message included the results of the analysis of additional data on the preliminary attack. It was established that on September 11 at the Saratov refinery, the primary oil processing unit ELZU-AVT-6 was damaged, as well as a section of the main pipeline. This indicates that strikes on the oil refining sector are not one-off but systemic in nature.
Contradictory data
There are discrepancies between sources that are important to take into account. First, the publication torontovka.com reports that two people were killed as a result of the strike in Nizhnekamsk, whereas in the statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, provided to RBC-Ukraine, no casualties are mentioned — the figure is not confirmed by the primary source. Second, in the RBC-Ukraine text both refineries are described as "located a hundred kilometers from Ukraine," however geographically Nizhnekamsk (Tatarstan) and Slavyansk-na-Kubani (Krasnodar Krai) are located much further — hundreds and thousands of kilometers from the border, which is an obvious inaccuracy of the original source. In addition, two of the additional sources (RFI of August 26 and Euronews of August 28, 2026) describe other, earlier strikes on refineries and warehouses, and are not directly related to the events of the night of September 13.
Context: a series of strikes on rear infrastructure
The night of September 13 became a continuation of a series of attacks on industrial facilities deep in Russia. On September 12, Ukrainian drones attacked the "TolyattiKaucchuk" plant in Samara Oblast (approximately 880 km from Ukraine), after which a fire broke out following a hit. The day before, on September 11, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the Snezhnyansk machine-building plant in occupied Donbas, which produces parts for gas-turbine engines and is used by the RF to equip military aviation engines. The totality of these strikes demonstrates a sustained line of action in hitting facilities that support the enemy's military and energy infrastructure.
