A Ukrainian Navy strike with the Neptune coastal missile system disabled two primary refining units and oil storage facilities at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia's Rostov Oblast on the night of 31 May. The Ukrainian Navy confirmed the use of the weapon and the damage on 3 June, three days after the General Staff first reported the strike.
Novoshakhtinsk is one of southern Russia's largest refineries (annual processing capacity estimated at 5.6 to 7.5 million tons) and a key supplier of fuel and lubricants to Russian military operations.
The 31 May strike is the fifth publicly confirmed Ukrainian hit on the facility since 2024, joining the deep-strike campaign that has hit Russian fuel infrastructure at refineries, oil tankers, and depots across the Russian south.
Once again delivered precise strike
"As a result of the strike, two atmospheric-vacuum crude oil distillation units with a capacity of up to 2.5 million tons per year each, as well as petroleum product storage facilities, were taken out of service," the Ukrainian Navy press service wrote on Telegram.
Earlier on 2 June, the General Staff reported that the same night's strike had caused a fire on the refinery's premises and damaged the AVT-1 and AVT-2 units.
Neptune adapted from anti-ship roots
The R-360 Neptune was originally Ukraine's domestically developed anti-ship missile, with an initial range of 300 kilometers — the weapon that famously sank Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva in April 2022. Ukrainian engineers have since extended its range, reportedly to around 1,000 kilometers in upgraded variants, and adapted it for ground-target strikes against energy infrastructure, command posts, and logistics nodes.
Repeatedly struck refinery
Novoshakhtinsk has been struck at least four times before: by a drone in June 2024, again in December 2024, in August 2025 (with a fire that burned for at least three days), and by UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles on 25 December 2025.
The repeated targeting reflects the refinery's role in Russian military logistics — it is connected to Russia's Transneft pipeline network and rail infrastructure, and has been a major fuel supplier to Russia's southern operations against Ukraine.
The 31 May strike was part of a broader Ukrainian wave that also damaged the AVT-6 primary distillation unit at the Saratov refinery the same night and hit the Ilsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai 48 hours later.
