Ukraine’s military launched a coordinated drone strike against one of Russia’s most significant oil refineries, bringing production at the Lukoil-owned facility in Volgograd to a complete halt. The attack, carried out over May 28-29, marks another escalation in Kyiv’s campaign to choke off the revenue streams funding Moscow’s war machine.
The Volgograd refinery, known formally as Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka, is the largest in southern Russia. Its annual processing capacity exceeds 15 million tons. That capacity is now sitting at zero.
What got hit and how bad is it
The strikes damaged four primary distillation units: AVT-1, AVT-3, AVT-5, and AVT-6. Secondary processing facilities were also affected, meaning the refinery isn’t just limping along on reduced capacity. It’s offline entirely.
The operation involved both Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and its Unmanned Systems Forces. Beyond the refinery itself, Ukrainian forces also struck the Krasny Yar linear production and dispatch station, a key node in the region’s oil pipeline network. Fires were reported at the site.
