General Staff confirms strikes on Volgograd refinery and oil hub "Samara"

Ukraine's Defense Forces struck the Volgograd oil refinery of Lukoil company and the linear production dispatch station "Samara" – one of the major hubs of the Russian oil transportation and blending system – on the night of October 2.

This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Explosions and fires were recorded at both facilities after the strikes, and the final results of the damage are still being clarified.

In Volgograd, the target was the "Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka" refinery. It is one of Russia's largest oil refining enterprises with a capacity of about 15 million tons of oil per year. The refinery produces gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel.

Earlier in the morning, Astra, based on geolocation of eyewitness videos, reported a strong glow in the area of the Volgograd refinery and the nearby chemical enterprise "Kaustik". At that time, it was impossible to determine from the footage which object was burning. The General Staff's later report confirmed that the refinery was struck.

Russian authorities acknowledged a massive drone attack on industrial infrastructure in the Volgograd region overnight, but did not name specific enterprises. The Volgograd refinery has been targeted many times, including this summer.

The second confirmed target was the "Samara" LODS near the settlement of Prosvet in the Samara region. It is a major hub for receiving, storing, pumping, and blending oil.

According to the General Staff, high-sulfur and low-sulfur oil from various fields are blended at this station to form the Urals export blend. This grade, as noted by the Ukrainian military command, accounts for up to half of Russian oil exports.

Astra, even before Ukraine's official confirmation, geolocated the fire precisely on the territory of this facility. According to the outlet, the complex's area exceeds 216 hectares, and its tank farm consists of 71 tanks with a total capacity of over 1.6 million cubic meters of oil. Several main oil pipelines from Western Siberia, Tatarstan, the Orenburg region, and Kazakhstan converge at the station.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed damage to oil facilities in the Samara and Volgograd regions. He stated that during the day, Ukrainian forces also carried out successful operations in the Black Sea and struck targets in the Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, and Krasnodar regions.

According to the president, the damaged facilities included airfields, enterprises, refineries, a missile and space center, and an ammunition depot. The operations involved the SBU, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, and the Foreign Intelligence Service.

The General Staff emphasized that strikes on oil infrastructure are aimed at reducing Russia's military-economic potential. Both damaged facilities, according to the Ukrainian command, are involved in supporting the Russian armed forces.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Astra