On the night of February 17, drones attacked several targets in Russia, including the Ilsky Oil Refinery in Krasnodarskiy Krai, where the strike caused a large-scale fire.
The Krasnodarskiy Krai Operations Headquarters reported the incident, and Russian social media accounts and monitoring channels also recorded it.
Details of the attack
According to the headquarters, the strike ignited a fuel storage tank at the Ilsky Refinery. The fire spread over an area of about 700 square meters. Firefighters deployed 72 personnel and 21 pieces of equipment, including a firefighting train. No casualties were reported.
Due to the aerial threat, the airports in Krasnodar, Sochi, and Gelendzhik temporarily suspended operations. Air raid sirens sounded in Novorossiysk and Slavyansk-na-Kubani.
Simultaneously, drone attacks were reported in the Republic of Tatarstan: explosions occurred during the night on the outskirts of Kazan and Nizhnekamsk. Locals reported bright flashes in the sky. Some districts of Kazan experienced power outages. Airports in Kazan and Nizhnekamsk temporarily stopped accepting flights. Official information on the consequences of these strikes is not yet available.
Context
The Ilsky Refinery is a key enterprise in the Southern Federal District of Russia, with a capacity of over 6 million tons of oil per year. It has previously been targeted by drone attacks, which temporarily halted its operations.
Over the past week, Ukrainian drones also struck the Ukhta Refinery in the Komi Republic and the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Krasnodarskiy Krai.
Last week, the Volgograd Refinery, used to supply the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine, was also hit. Overall, the Russian oil and gas sector suffered losses exceeding 1 trillion rubles in 2025. Systematic Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries caused direct infrastructure damage and significant profit losses.
Earlier, The Ukrainian Review reported that Russian oil exports are becoming increasingly difficult. Rising volumes of crude without end buyers indicate a deep crisis in the Russian oil sector caused by Western sanctions pressure.
