Ukraine says it struck two Russian refineries; regional officials report damage in Perm, Rostov

Russian regional authorities said an oil-products plant in the southern Rostov region was damaged and an industrial site in Perm was struck overnight after Ukraine’s military said it had hit two Russian refineries in a wave of drone attacks.

In a statement on Sept. 25, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Ukrainian forces struck “a number of important military, fuel-energy and industrial sites” in Russia on Sept. 24 and overnight into Sept. 25. It identified the targets as the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery in Russia’s Perm region and the Novoshakhtinsk oil-products plant in the Rostov region, and said fires were recorded at both sites. The General Staff also said two Russian radar stations near Novoshakhtinsk were hit, the 64L6 Gamma-S1 and 39N6 Kasta-2E2, but that claim was not independently confirmed in Russian official statements or major early media reporting.

In the Rostov region, Gov. Yuriy Slyusar said the Novoshakhtinsk plant was damaged in the air attack and had temporarily suspended operations, according to Interfax. The Russian news agency also reported that Slyusar said about 50 drones were destroyed over the region overnight. In Perm, Gov. Dmitry Makhonin said a “hostile UAV” struck one of the industrial enterprises of Perm Krai, using the Russian term for an unmanned aerial vehicle. He did not publicly identify the site. Russian and international media reports, citing local footage and open-source geolocation, linked the Perm strike to the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery.

The two plants are significant parts of Russia’s fuel-processing network. Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez is widely reported to process about 13 million tonnes of oil a year. The Novoshakhtinsk plant is widely cited at up to 7.5 million tonnes a year. Refineries matter because they produce fuel used across the civilian economy and by the military.

The strikes came as Russian regional officials and multiple media outlets reported a broader overnight wave of Ukrainian drone attacks across several regions. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian refineries, storage sites and other fuel infrastructure since 2024 as part of a campaign aimed at reducing Russia’s military logistics capacity. In its Sept. 25 statement, the General Staff said striking oil-processing facilities was part of Ukraine’s exercise of its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which recognizes the inherent right of self-defense if an armed attack occurs.