Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery hit and burning in Russia’s Rostov region photo

An oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region has been set ablaze following a reported attack, while Ukrainian long-range drones also struck other strategic energy facilities across the country on December 25.

Telegram channel ASTRA reported that the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Products Plant (JSC NZNP) was attacked and caught fire in the city of Novoshakhtinsk, located in Russia’s Rostov region. Further details on the scale of the damage were not immediately available.

Earlier the same day, Ukrainian long-range drones targeted two major fuel and energy infrastructure facilities in the Russian Federation: a seaport in Krasnodar Territory and a gas processing plant in Orenburg region.

The first target was the seaport of Temryuk in Krasnodar Territory. The strike caused storage tanks containing petroleum products to ignite, with the fire spreading over an area of approximately 4,000 square meters. Firefighting efforts involved around 70 personnel and 18 pieces of equipment. This was not the first such incident at the site; Ukraine’s Defense Forces had previously struck facilities at the Temryuk seaport on December 5 using attack drones.

Later on December 25, drones also hit a gas processing plant in Orenburg region, described as one of the world’s largest gas chemical complexes, with an annual processing capacity of 37.5 billion cubic meters of gas. The strike triggered a gas fire on a section of the pipeline located on the technological rack of Unit 3U-7, which is used to remove hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from raw gas.

As a result of the fire, the facility was forced to suspend its technological operations. The outbreak of fire on the plant’s territory was confirmed by the international fire monitoring service FIRMS.

By Tamilla Hasanova