Ukraine’s General Staff confirms strikes on two Russian refineries and Black Sea rig

Ukrainian forces struck two Russian oil refineries and a surveillance post mounted on a Black Sea drilling rig on the night of 8 August, Ukraine's General Staff said.

The strikes extend a months-long Ukrainian campaign against Russia's refining sector. Ukrainian forces attacked Russian refineries about 50 times between mid-April and 13 July, hitting at least 24 of the country's 34 large plants and cutting refining volumes to their lowest level in more than two decades, Bloomberg estimated.

A fire at the Ilsky plant

The strike on the Ilsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai touched off a fire on the plant's grounds, the General Staff said. It put the site's capacity at six process units and about 6.6 million tons of oil a year.

The plant "receives, stores and processes hydrocarbon feedstock, produces and ships petroleum products," the General Staff said, adding that its output serves the needs of the Russian armed forces, among other users.

Syzran plant tied to Rosneft

Ukrainian forces also hit the Syzran refinery in Samara oblast, which is part of Rosneft's oil complex, the General Staff said. It described the plant as having a design capacity of about 8.5 million tons of oil a year and producing more than 20 types of petroleum products, including motor fuels and road bitumen, and named it one of the region's key refining facilities supplying fuel to the Russian armed forces.

A surveillance post on the Syvash rig

The third target was a technical observation post on the Syvash jack-up drilling rig in the Black Sea, the General Staff said. Russia uses the rig to house surveillance equipment and keep it operating in those waters, the statement said.

Russian officials confirm the attacks

Overnight, Russian Telegram channels reported drone attacks on Krasnodar Krai and Samara oblast. Samara governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed the shelling. Local channels said the Syzran strike landed near an AVT distillation unit and oil storage tanks.

In Krasnodar Krai, the regional operational headquarters confirmed the Ilsky refinery had been damaged and said "debris fell on the plant's territory."

Neither the strikes nor their extent could be verified through independent sources, Radio Svoboda said. The General Staff has said Ukrainian forces "systematically implement measures aimed at reducing the combat potential of the Russian occupation forces" and pressing Russia to end its aggression against Ukraine.