Ukrainian drone attack on Volgograd industrial zone kills four workers, governor says
Four workers were killed and two were taken to hospital after Ukrainian drones struck an industrial zone in the southern Russian city of Volgograd overnight into Friday, regional governor Andrei Bocharov said. Reuters described it as the deadliest attack on the city so far.
What the governor said
Bocharov first reported around 1am local time that falling drone debris had caused "localized fires" in and around the industrial zone, with no casualties, The Moscow Times reported. By morning the toll had changed.
Unfortunately, there are casualties among employees of Volgograd's southern industrial zone as a result of today's attack by the criminal Kiev regime: four people were killed and two hospitalized.
Windows and balconies were also damaged in three five-storey apartment blocks and a youth centre in the settlement of Svetly Yar, where no one was hurt, TASS said.
The refinery question
Astra said it identified the burning facility from eyewitness photographs as the largest Lukoil refinery in southern Russia, The Moscow Times reported. Lukoil did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.
The plant has been attacked repeatedly. The Moscow Times said it was previously attacked on 2 October, and the Telegram channel Exilenova+ counted this as the 13th attack since the full-scale war began, Meduza reported.
| Volgograd refinery | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daily capacity | about 280,000 barrels | Lukoil website, via Reuters |
| Share of Russian refining | about 5% | Reuters |
| Annual processing capacity | about 14 million tons (The Moscow Times: about 14.8 million) | Lukoil website, via Reuters; The Moscow Times |
Drivers began queuing at petrol stations across Volgograd after the attack as prices for popular grades rose by 50 kopeks a litre overnight, local media reported, according to The Moscow Times and Meduza.
A wider refinery campaign
Ukraine has sharply stepped up strikes on Russian refineries since the end of October, when an energy ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump failed to take hold, Reuters reported. Two industry sources told the agency the attacks had temporarily cut Russia's refining capacity by about 30%.
Moscow was also targeted. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 467 drones flew toward the Moscow region overnight, Meduza reported, and restrictions were briefly imposed at all four Moscow airports.
The view from Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities said another night of Russian attacks had set a hospital ablaze and killed at least three people, The Moscow Times reported.
The strikes came a day after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and then flew to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.