After a drone attack, one of the largest oil refineries in Russia suspended operations – media

The Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl halted fuel production after a drone attack that occurred on December 12. The following day, a similar situation happened at the Saratov Refinery.

The Russian oil refinery Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez (YANOS), which is among the top five in Russia, stopped fuel output due to damage caused by drones. A fire damaged the AVT-4 unit, which provides a third of the plant’s capacity, as well as the oil-loading rack. YANOS, owned by Rosneft and Gazprom, produced 2.6 million tons of gasoline, 4 million tons of diesel, and 4.7 million tons of fuel oil last year. This is the second large refinery in Russia to halt operations in December.

It is noted that the Saratov Refinery, one of the oldest oil processing facilities in the country, also faced a drone attack on the night of December 13. As a result of the attack, the plant’s power cable was damaged, leading to a temporary halt in production. The Saratov facility produces 4.8 million tons of oil annually and became the tenth to suffer damage since the beginning of 2025.

These attacks are becoming part of a broader trend of using drones to strike critical infrastructure. In November, Ukrainian drones carried out at least 14 strikes on Russian refineries, surpassing the record in August when 12 plants were targeted. The national oil refining volume in Russia last year reached a 12-year low of 266 million tons, and forecasts indicate that these levels will be maintained this year.