Defense Forces have disabled 15 of Russia's 38 major oil refineries, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate
As of the end of September 2026, the Ukrainian Defense Forces had taken 15 of Russia’s 38 major oil refineries out of operation. Another 12 facilities were forced to reduce their production of petroleum products.
“Ukraine’s far-reaching sanctions are dealing significant blows to Russia’s oil refining sector. As of the end of September 2026, 15 of Russia’s 38 major oil refineries had been taken out of operation, and another 12 had reduced their production of petroleum products,” the Main Intelligence Directorate stated.
As a result of Ukrainian strikes, total oil refining volumes at these facilities have decreased by 55.4% compared to the beginning of the year.
The situation is most dire for Russia in the Volga, Central, and Southern Federal Districts. Due to the shutdown of oil refineries there, the production capacity of the following companies has been affected:
- PJSC “Slavneft-YANOS”;
- LLC “Kirishineftegazsintez”;
- JSC “Ryazan Oil Refining Company”;
- JSC “Gazpromneft-Moscow Refinery”;
- Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez LLC.
These companies collectively account for approximately 33% of Russia’s total oil refining capacity.
At the same time, oil refineries located in remote regions of the Russian Federation continue to operate. Among them are:
- Gazpromneft-Omsk Refinery JSC;
- JSC “Achinsk Refinery”;
- NefteKhimService LLC;
- JSC “Khabarovsk Oil Refinery”;
- Mari Oil Refinery LLC;
- Vaninsky Refinery LLC.
In September 2026, the total volume of oil refining at these facilities amounted to 906,000 barrels per day. This is 147,000 barrels more than at the beginning of the year. Thus, remote refineries accounted for about 24% of all oil refining in the Russian Federation.
The operation of these remote refineries allows the Kremlin to temporarily offset the fuel shortage. However, the potential for such substitution is limited by the refineries’ geographic location.
As noted in the intelligence report, delivering petroleum products is difficult due to a shortage of railway rolling stock and tanker trucks.
In addition, production volumes at these refineries may decline in 2027. This will be due to the postponement to next year of maintenance work that was originally scheduled for this year.
The Main Intelligence Directorate also drew attention to the Kremlin’s decision to restrict access to information on oil refining volumes. The relevant changes are provided for in Vladimir Putin’s Decree No. 686 of September 28.
“The seriousness of the situation is also evidenced by the Kremlin’s decision to restrict access to information on oil refining volumes. The relevant changes are provided for in Putin’s Decree No. 686 of September 28. This makes independent monitoring of the industry impossible and creates conditions for the spread of unreliable data—particularly regarding diesel fuel production volumes—among countries interested in purchasing Russian oil,” the GUR emphasized.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, precision strikes by the Defense Forces on Russian oil industry facilities have caused more than $23.2 billion in damage to the Russian economy.
This amount is nearly equal to the industry’s total revenue for 2025, which stood at $26.6 billion.
At the same time, Russia is facing increasing difficulties in repairing and maintaining damaged facilities. This is due to international sanctions and the high cost of the necessary equipment. The cost of replacing damaged equipment could exceed $20 billion.
“Thus, despite attempts to redistribute the burden among surviving enterprises, Russia is unable to fully meet its own needs for petroleum products while simultaneously fulfilling its export obligations. Moreover, the Russians have begun importing fuel from other countries through ‘gray market schemes’ to circumvent international sanctions,” the GUR statement reads.
This is evidenced by data from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Facebook.
On the night of November 5, drones attacked the Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia’s largest oil refining facilities. As a result of the attack, fires broke out at industrial sites in the city, and part of Ryazan was left without power.
As a reminder, on the night of November 3, drones struck the “Slavnafta-YANOS” oil refinery in Yaroslavl, Russia. A fire broke out in the industrial zone following the attack.
Prior to this, drones had attacked a Lukoil oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
In Ufa, a fire broke out at the Bashneft-Novoyl oil refinery following a drone attack.
On the night of October 30, drones attacked the Russian city of Novokuybyshevsk in the Samara Region.
