Ukrainian Forces Strike Ilsky Oil Refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai
Ukrainian forces struck Russia's Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai overnight on 26 September, causing a fire at the facility, according to Ukraine's General Staff and Unmanned Systems Forces.
Strike on Ilsky Oil Refinery
Ukrainian forces struck Russia's Ilsky oil refinery overnight on 26 September in Krasnodar Krai, sparking a fire at the facility, Ukraine's General Staff said. [3] Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said the strike on the oil refinery, located approximately 400 kilometers from where the Ukrainian drones were launched, was carried out by the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces and the 414th Unmanned Systems Brigade, better known as "Madyar's Birds," along with other Ukrainian military units. [3] The facility is located roughly 500 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory. [3] Russian and Ukrainian monitoring channels reported explosions in the area of the refinery as the drone activity continued overnight. [3]
Russian Regional Response
Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratiev confirmed that drones attacked the Seversky district, where the refinery is located, and claimed there were fatalities and one person seriously injured. [3] Kondratiev said drone debris also damaged a residential building and that fires had broken out at two enterprises in the district. [3] He did not identify the facilities. [3] Independent Russian outlet ASTRA said its analysis of eyewitness footage showed that one of the fires was at the Ilsky refinery. [3]
Refinery's Strategic Importance and Prior Attacks
The facility is one of the largest oil-processing facilities in southern Russia, producing nearly 6.6 million tons of fuel annually. [3] The refinery has been targeted repeatedly by Ukrainian forces throughout the full-scale war. [3] By June, the refinery had been struck at least 16 times, according to the Russian independent outlet ASTRA. [3] Ukraine's General Staff confirmed a strike on the Ilsky refinery on June 2 that caused a major fire. [3] Ukrainian forces struck the facility again on Aug. 8, with the General Staff reporting a hit followed by a fire on the refinery grounds. [3] Krasnodar Krai, a strategic region along Russia's Black Sea coast, has increasingly come under Ukrainian drone attacks as Kyiv extends the range of its strikes deep into Russian territory. [3] Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in an effort to disrupt fuel supplies to the Russian military and reduce revenues used to finance Moscow's war. [3]
Additional Ukrainian Strike on Radar
Ukraine's defence forces carried out a series of strikes on Russian military targets throughout 25 September and on the night of 25-26 September. [5] Ukrainian forces have struck a Russian P-18 Terek radar station in the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk Oblast. [5] The radar station was struck near the settlement of Semenivske. [5] The Ukrainian military said the P-18 Terek was a mobile two-dimensional VHF radar station used by Russian forces to detect aerial assets and determine their coordinates, as well as to provide radar data to air defence systems. [5] The radar has a maximum target detection range of around 250 km and can detect targets at altitudes of up to 35 km. [5] The General Staff said the P-18 Terek is one of the radar systems supporting Russia's air defences. [5] In addition to the radar, Ukrainian forces hit a Russian ammunition depot in the city of Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast. [5]
Russian Attacks on Kyiv Infrastructure
Russian forces attacked internet provider Kolo.TV for the third time on the morning of 26 September. [1] A Russian attack on 23 September damaged one of Kyiv's data centres housing the core equipment of the Utels internet service provider. [1] The attack also caused disruptions to the Fex.net cloud service. [1] Internet services have been disrupted for around 100,000 households in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast following a Russian attack. [1] Following a Russian attack on Kyiv data centres, Domonet, Kievnet and Faust internet providers reported infrastructure damage and internet disruptions. [1] A data centre housing infrastructure belonging to hosting provider MiroHost has been destroyed in a Russian attack, leaving the company unable to say when operations will be restored. [1] On 25 September, a data centre operated by Datagroup was damaged in another Russian attack. [1] Ukrainian TV channel Novyny.LIVE has temporarily suspended broadcasts because of disruptions affecting some of its services following a Russian attack on infrastructure in Kyiv. [4] Technical experts are currently working to restore the network and resolve the problems. [4] Novyny.LIVE said it will resume broadcasting and return to normal operations once the signal has stabilised. [4] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said decisions on protecting data centres and other critical communications infrastructure had been taken at a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. [1]
Broader Drone Warfare Context
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 645 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions, Crimea, and the Black Sea and Azov Sea, describing it as one of the largest drone attacks reported since the war began. [2] According to a ministry statement carried by Russian state news agency TASS, the drones were intercepted over Russia’s Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Tula and Moscow regions, as well as over the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula and surrounding waters. [2] The ministry did not specify the exact timing of the attacks or provide details on casualties or damage caused by drones that may have reached their targets. [2] The announcement comes as Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes targeting military infrastructure, oil refineries, logistics hubs and industrial facilities deep inside Russian territory. [2] Recent attacks have disrupted refinery operations, damaged railway infrastructure and prompted temporary airport closures in several Russian regions, according to Russian officials. [2] The latest barrage highlights the growing role of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war, with both sides increasingly relying on long-range unmanned aircraft for attacks far behind front lines. [2]
What to watch next: Ukrainian forces are expected to continue operations against Russian military targets, while internet providers in Kyiv work to restore services disrupted by recent attacks on data centres.
