Defense forces struck the Ilskyi oil refinery — a fire broke out at the plant

On the night of today, 26 September 2026, the Defense Forces of Ukraine struck the Ilsky Oil Refinery in the settlement of Ilsky, Krasnodar Krai, Russian Federation. After the strike, a fire broke out on the plant’s premises, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in the morning. According to the report: reported.

The total capacity of the Ilsky refinery is about 6.6 million tonnes of oil per year. The plant receives, stores and processes hydrocarbon feedstock, and also produces and ships petroleum products. According to the Ukrainian military command, the plant’s products are used, in particular, to meet the needs of the Russian armed forces.

Later the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces specified the units involved in the operation:

• operators of the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces;
• service members of the 414th Separate Brigade “Madyar’s Birds”;
• other units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine explained that strikes on such facilities are aimed at reducing the military-economic potential of Russia. Ukraine considers them an exercise of the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

At the time of publication, information about the extent of the damage to the Ilsky refinery and the consequences of the fire was not available.

Earlier we wrote:

• The AFU struck drone control centers and warehouses of Russian forces
• A new Ukrainian weapon reached Moscow: an oil refinery caught fire, Zelensky named Pelican for the first time
• A drone strike halted oil processing at the Yaroslavl oil refinery
• Strikes on refineries in the Russian Federation and Shahed depots in Donetsk: the AFU carried out a series of hits on New Year’s night
• Strike on the occupiers’ strategic targets: destruction of Russia’s energy infrastructure