President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Ukraine has hit Rosneft’s Ryazan oil refinery in another deep strike inside Russian territory as Ukraine continues with its campaign to paralyze Russia’s energy lifeline.
Reports by local authorities confirmed that the target was successfully hit after a high-impact drone attack that conducted surveillance in the area just a few minutes before hitting the Ryazan Oil Refinery.
The overnight strike on November 20, 2025, triggered fires, alarms and explosions at the facility, which is located about 180 kilometres southeast of Moscow and belongs to PJSC Rosneft Oil Company, which is a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow that specializes in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products.
Precision and Strategy by Zelenskyy and Ukraine
The Ryazan refinery, Russia’s fourth-largest, processes more than 260,000 barrels of crude per day, roughly 5% of the country’s total refining capacity.
On November 15, the plant’s main crude distillation unit, responsible for nearly half its output, was hit by the Ukrainian military and has been shut down since, with no oil product loadings expected before December 1.
Repairs to the same unit of the facility damaged in late October remain incomplete, leaving the Ryazan refinery largely idle and heightening Russia’s energy concerns.
The attack on the Ryazan refinery is also a major blow to Putin, as it produces approximately 840,000 tons of TS-1 aviation fuel annually for the Aerospace Forces and represents a significant disruption at a time when Russia relies heavily on oil revenues to finance its war effort.
Latest estimates by war analysts reveal that Ukrainian strikes have disabled up to 15% of Russia’s refining capacity since the past summer, which has driven domestic fuel prices up by more than 10% and forced temporary export restrictions.
Earlier in July, Ukraine stated that its plan is to paralyze Russia’s primary source of funding, launching a campaign against Russian energy facilities, adding that every refinery hit reduces Russia’s ability to engage and carry on with the war.
Zelenskyy’s campaign has intensified since August, with at least 58 attacks on Russian energy sites, including major facilities in Saratov, Volgograd, and Samara, as well as the Novorossiysk oil port on the Black Sea.
Russian Response
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov acknowledged that falling drone debris caused a fire at an industrial site nearby, but declined to name the site.
Also Read: Zelenskyy Outsmarts Putin in Novopavlivka, Eliminates 15 Russian Troops
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted 25 drones over Ryazan and 64 nationwide during the November 15 wave of attacks, yet the scale of damage suggests multiple drones penetrated defenses and has raised questions over the credibility of their reports.
Russia has escalated its own energy war, pounding Ukrainian power plants and gas facilities with hundreds of drones and missiles in recent weeks, which has caused widespread outages in several Ukrainian regions.
Despite repeated strikes, Russia has managed to limit overall refining losses to about 3% this year by leveraging spare capacity and rapid repairs.
However, Western sanctions on refinery equipment and spare parts are slowing recovery, raising concerns about long-term resilience if Ukraine persists with the attacks.
Also Read: Relentless Zelenskyy Takes Russia’s City of Orel Overnight
The attacks on Ryazan, together with recent hits on Saratov and Novorossiysk, have led to great instability in the global oil market, after Russia’s crude shipments fell to 3.36 million barrels per day last week and pushed Russia’s revenues to their lowest level since mid-2023, about $1.2 billion (Ksh155.7 billion) weekly.
With winter looming and both sides trading blows on critical infrastructure, the Ukraine-Russia conflict is entering a phase where fuel, and the ability to produce it, may prove as decisive as firepower.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
