Two major Russian refineries hit by drone strikes, large fires reported
Drones hit Rosneft’s Syzran plant and the Ilsky refinery; Russian MoD says 397 drones were intercepted overnight.
Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles struck two major Russian oil refineries in the early hours of August 8, 2026, setting large fires at facilities in Syzran (Samara Oblast) and Ilsky (Krasnodar Krai). Local authorities and open-source investigators reported impacts on storage tanks and processing units as part of a wider overnight wave of strikes across Russian regions.
The blaze in Syzran began after residents reported a series of explosions between 03:50 and 04:30 local time and a thick column of black smoke rising above the plant. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of Samara Oblast, confirmed an attack on "one of the industrial enterprises" but did not detail the extent of the damage; he said remedial measures were being undertaken. Independent OSINT analysis by the Astra channel later confirmed hits to the Syzran refinery, a Rosneft-owned facility with an annual processing capacity of 8.9 million tons of crude oil.
“Large-scale fire at the oil refinery in Syzran. At least three hits on the plant.” — a social media post reported the continuing blaze and multiple impacts on the plant on August 8, 2026.
The Ilsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai was also struck. Regional emergency authorities said the fire there was caused by falling debris from downed drones; five people were injured and received medical aid. The Ilsky plant has an annual refining capacity of 6.6 million tons of crude oil.
Wider pattern: dozens of incidents and MoD interception claims
The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces intercepted a total of 397 drones overnight, reporting incidents over Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Penza, Rostov, Ryazan, Samara, Saratov, Tambov and Tula regions, as well as over the occupied Crimean Peninsula and the Sea of Azov.
The strikes on the refineries followed a deep strike the previous day: on August 7, 2026 a Ukrainian drone hit a Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg — more than 2,000 kilometres from Ukraine's border — prompting a fire and the evacuation of roughly 800 employees and temporary restrictions at Koltsovo airport. Wildberries, Russia's largest e‑commerce retailer, has reported that since mid‑July more than 20 of its facilities have been struck, with at least eight of its 15 largest logistics centres destroyed.
Photo: press material from the event
