Ukraine strikes Russian oil refinery in coordinated attack

Wednesday 12 November 2025 - 07:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Ukraine strikes Russian oil refinery in coordinated attack

Ukrainian forces launched overnight strikes on key strategic targets, hitting a Russian oil refinery deep inside Russian territory and damaging critical oil infrastructure in occupied areas on November 11. The attacks mark an escalation in Kyiv's efforts to weaken Moscow’s war economy.

The strikes targeted the Saratov oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov Oblast, fuel storage tanks at the Feodosia oil terminal in Russian-occupied Crimea, and a military warehouse near Ocheretyne in occupied Donetsk, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. Conducted on day 1,356 of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the coordinated assault demonstrates Ukraine’s growing ability to strike critical infrastructure hundreds of kilometers behind enemy lines.

Seventh attack on key Russian refinery

A series of explosions rocked the Saratov refinery overnight, triggering a large fire captured on social media, Ukraine’s General Staff reported. Owned by Rosneft, the facility located approximately 370 miles from the front line has a daily processing capacity of 140,000 barrels of crude oil and produces over 20 types of petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel.

This was the seventh attack on the Saratov refinery in 2025, with the previous strike occurring on November 3. Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed its air defenses intercepted 37 Ukrainian drones overnight, including eight over Saratov Oblast. However, Saratov Governor Roman Busargin acknowledged damage to civilian infrastructure without confirming whether the refinery itself was hit.

Crimea’s fuel hub targeted

Ukrainian forces also struck the Feodosia oil terminal, a critical logistics hub supplying fuel and lubricants via maritime routes to Crimea and occupied southern Ukraine. The General Staff confirmed direct hits on the facility’s storage tanks, though the full extent of the damage remains under assessment.

Additionally, Ukrainian drones attacked a Russian military warehouse in Donetsk and troop concentrations near Ocheretyne in occupied Donetsk, with the drones reportedly hitting their targets successfully.

Part of a broader campaign against Russian energy

The strikes are part of Ukraine’s intensified campaign against Russia’s oil infrastructure. Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), disclosed in October that Ukrainian forces have carried out nearly 160 successful strikes on Russian oil extraction and refining facilities in 2025 alone. These operations have reportedly reduced Russia’s refining capacity by 37%, causing fuel shortages in 57 regions and prompting Moscow to ban gasoline exports until the end of the year.

“These are legitimate military targets. Oil extraction and refining account for about 90% of Russia’s defense budget. These dirty petro-rubles fund the war against us,” Malyuk stated.

Ukraine’s General Staff also reported that Russia has lost an estimated 1,153,180 soldiers since the start of the invasion, with 1,020 casualties recorded in the past 24 hours.