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Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A fire erupted at Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery after a drone strike overnight on Jan. 26, according to Russian media reports.
The reported strike comes two nights after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SOS) launched a joint attack against the Ryazan Oil Refinery on Jan. 24.
Locals reported sounds of explosions and an attempted drone attack on the refinery shortly before 1 a.m. on Jan. 26, the Russian Telegram news channel Astra said. Ryazan Oblast Governor Pavlo Malkov confirmed that Russian air defense units were repelling a drone attack in the region.
Andrii Kovalenko, the counter-disinformation chief at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, posted video to his official Telegram channel purporting to show a fire at the refinery after it was hit by drones.
Astra confirmed that video footage of the fires circulating online was filmed at the site of the refinery, but said that because of the timing of the strike it was difficult to determine whether the fire was from a new hit or the Jan. 24 attack.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims at the time of publication.
The Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia's largest, has the capacity to process 17 million metric tons of oil per year. Profits from fossil fuels fund Russia's war machine and Ukraine considers oil industry facilities to be valid military targets.
Ryazan lies roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Ukraine's border.
Ukrainian forces have targeted the Ryazan facility in previous attacks. An SBU source told the Kyiv Independent that at least three oil depots and a workshop were set ablaze in the Jan. 24 strike.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) also carried out a drone attack on the Ryazan Oil Refinery on May 1, 2024.
Kovalenko said on Jan. 24 that the refinery is a key facility in Russia's military-industrial complex.
"The refinery plays an important role in providing fuel for both the civilian and military-industrial complex of Russia," he said on Telegram.
"It produces fuel for military equipment, aviation kerosene, diesel fuel and other types of petroleum products used in tanks, aircraft, ships and other equipment of the Russian Armed Forces."
Tim Zadorozhnyy
