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Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kaluga oil refinery using drones

Suicide drones of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency reportedly damaged a Russian oil refinery in Kaluga as Ukraine intensifies aerial strikes against Russia’s oil industry.

byYuri Zoria

15/03/2024

2 minute read

Attack on the Kaluga oil refinery on 15 March 2024: moments before the strike; Google Street View of the area; fire after the strike. Screenshots: social media video

Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kaluga oil refinery using drones

Early on 15 March, suicide drones attacked an oil refinery in Russia’s Kaluga oblast, about 300 kilometers from Ukraine’s border, causing damage.

In the past three months, Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks against the Russian oil industry. Over the past week, Ukraine has targeted at least four Russian oil facilities with drone attacks, aiming to hit the core of Russia’s economy over two years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kaluga refinery, located about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Moscow, is a smaller facility with a processing capacity of 1.2 million tons per year or roughly 24,000 barrels per day, Reuters said.

Referring to an unnamed Ukrainian intelligence source, Reuters claimed the operation was conducted by Ukraine’s HUR military spy agency. As of the publication of this news piece, the HUR had not officially confirmed its involvement in the attack.

A video that emerged on Kaluga’s local Telegram channels shows a strike on the facility:

Despite the video evidence of the strike, local authorities claimed there was no damage:

“Four UAVs were jammed by air defense forces in the Dzerzhinsky district tonight. There were no casualties or damage to infrastructure. A task force is working on the site,” wrote Kaluga oblast Governor Vladislav Shapsha.

On 13 March, drones hit an oil refinery in Ryazan.
On 12 March, Ukraine carried out a coordinated drone offensive, hitting and damaging at least two Russian oil assets – a refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and a fuel depot in Oryol.
On 6 March, an oil depot in Kursk came under drone attack.
On 14 February, a Kursk oil depot was ablaze after a drone strike.
On 9 February, kamikaze drones targeted oil facilities in two Russian regions, hitting the Ilsky and Afipsky oil refineries in the Krasnodar region and an oil depot in the Oryol region, causing a severe fire at the Ilsky refinery and damaging a primary processing unit valued.
On 3 February, residents of Volgograd, Russia, reported two explosions, with the Governor stating that Russian air defense units allegedly intercepted drones targeting an oil refinery.
A vacuum distillation column at an oil refinery caught fire in Russia’s Tuapse City overnight on 25 January.
On 18 January, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
On 31 January, a drone hit an oil refinery in St. Petersburg.
On 18 January, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.

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