Full Breakdown
Ukrainian Drone Strike Halts Processing at Yaroslavl’s YANOS Refinery
By Drooid · · How we work
Attack on September 17 Shuts Primary Distillation Unit
On September 17, a Ukrainian-launched drone swarm struck the Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez (YANOS) refinery in Yaroslavl, roughly 250 km northeast of Moscow. Four industry sources said the strike damaged the plant’s primary crude distillation unit AVT-3, which can process 17,140 metric tons per day—about 40 % of the refinery’s total capacity. The incident forced an immediate halt to crude processing, and fuel output was not offered for sale on the domestic commodity exchange that day.
Facility Profile and Production Capacity
YANOS, jointly controlled by Rosneft and Gazprom, is one of Russia’s five largest refineries with an overall capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (?15 million metric tons per year). In 2024 the plant processed 14.9 million tons of crude, yielding 2.6 million tons of gasoline, 4.0 million tons of diesel, and 4.7 million tons of fuel oil. The refinery also produces aviation kerosene, jet fuel, lubricants, bitumen, liquefied gases and fuel oil. The secondary distillation unit AVT-4, with a 14,300-ton-per-day capacity (33 % of total), was already under repair after damage from an earlier drone strike on August 28.
Official Responses
Yaroslavl Governor Mikhail Yevrayev posted on Telegram that “Sixty-five drones were downed,” reported no casualties, and said the fire was fully extinguished by Thursday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had targeted the YANOS refinery. The refinery’s press service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Verbatim Quotes
- “There’s damage to the oil refinery,” — Mikhail Yevrayev, yaroslavl region governor
Ongoing Threat Landscape
OSINT analyst ASTRA identified the fire site from eyewitness photographs and noted that the M-8 highway near the refinery was closed, with public-transport routes altered. UNN reported that the YANOS facility has experienced at least eight fire incidents in 2026, on March 28, April 26, May 8, July 6, August 6 and August 28. The August 28 attack, described by regional officials, resulted in one death and 27 injuries, underscoring a pattern of repeated aerial assaults on the plant.