Ukrainian drones force one of Russia's largest refineries to halt after strike hits key unit
A Ukrainian drone strike damaged the AVT-3 primary processing unit at the Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez (YANOS) refinery near Yaroslavl, about 250 km northeast of Moscow, forcing the plant to halt crude oil processing on 17 September. AVT-3 accounts for roughly 40% of the refinery's capacity, and a second large unit was already offline from an earlier strike. Fuel from the plant disappeared from Russia's domestic commodity exchange the same day.
Key points
- YANOS halted crude oil processing on Thursday, 17 September, after a Ukrainian drone strike damaged the AVT-3 unit.
- AVT-3 has a capacity of 17,140 tonnes per day, about 40% of the refinery's total throughput.
- A second primary unit, AVT-4 (14,300 tonnes/day, 33% of capacity), was already under repair from a drone strike on 28 August.
- YANOS's total capacity is 15 million tonnes of crude per year (300,000 barrels per day); it processed 14.9 million tonnes in 2024.
- Fuel produced at the Yaroslavl refinery was no longer offered on Russia's domestic commodity exchange on 17 September.
- YANOS is owned by Slavneft, jointly controlled by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published video of the strike hitting YANOS and aircraft at a Rostov airfield during the night of 16–17 September; the Ukrainian General Staff reported a fire on the AVT-3 unit.
Why it matters
The damaged AVT-3 unit represents roughly 40% of YANOS's processing capacity, and a second large unit, AVT-4, was already offline from an earlier strike on 28 August, leaving the refinery with only its smallest primary unit (AT-4, about 27% of capacity) operational. The immediate disappearance of YANOS fuel from Russia's domestic market indicates a real, near-term supply effect, and the strike hits an asset jointly owned by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, two of Russia's largest state-linked energy companies.
What happened
On the night of 16–17 September, Ukrainian drones struck the Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez (YANOS) oil refinery near Yaroslavl, roughly 250 kilometres northeast of Moscow. The strike damaged the AVT-3 primary oil processing unit, which has a capacity of 17,140 tonnes per day, or about 40% of the refinery's total throughput. As a result, YANOS halted crude oil processing on Thursday, 17 September. A second large primary unit, AVT-4 (14,300 tonnes per day, about 33% of capacity), was already under repair from a previous drone strike on 28 August, leaving only the AT-4 unit (11,430 tonnes per day) still available. On the same day, fuel produced at the Yaroslavl refinery was no longer offered for sale on Russia's domestic commodity exchange. Reuters reported the halt, citing four industry sources. The Ukrainian General Staff said a fire had been recorded at the AVT-3 unit, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published video of the strike and confirmed the hit on the Yaroslavl refinery.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All three supplied Ukrainian outlets frame the halt at YANOS as the direct result of a Ukrainian drone strike, citing Reuters. Their headlines lead with the location of the target inside Russia rather than with damage figures, emphasising that a strike reached a major Russian energy facility deep inside the country. Two of the sources carry footage or confirmation attributed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and outlets such as hromadske and Ukrainska Pravda cast the operation as a successful long-range strike on Russian energy and military infrastructure, alongside reported hits on aircraft at a Rostov airfield.
Background
YANOS is the sixth-largest oil refinery in Russia by capacity. In 2024 it processed 14.9 million tonnes of crude and produced 2.6 million tonnes of gasoline, 4.0 million tonnes of diesel fuel, and 4.7 million tonnes of fuel oil. The plant is located roughly 250 kilometres northeast of Moscow. It is owned by Slavneft, which is jointly controlled by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.