Drones hit one of Russia's largest oil refineries in Tatarstan – video

Drones are reported to have struck the Taneko oil refinery in Tatarstan, a federal subject of the Russian Federation.

Source: Russian media outlet Astra; Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, on Telegram

Details: Astra reports that workers at an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, are being evacuated due to the threat of a drone attack.

Local Telegram channels are sharing footage of smoke rising from the Taneko refinery in Tatarstan, with reports indicating that an evacuation is currently underway.

A Kovyor (Carpet) plan had been introduced at the Nizhnekamsk airport before that. [A Kovyor plan is an airport operational safety procedure for airport services and personnel when an unidentified object appears in the sky – ed.]

A hit on the Taneko refinery, one of Russia's largest and most advanced, has been confirmed by Andrii Kovalenko, Head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation. The facility has an annual processing capacity of over 16 million tonnes of oil.

Quote from Kovalenko: "The refinery plays a key role in providing fuel to the Russian military. Taking out refineries and oil depots directly affects Russia's ability to wage an intensive war.

The last drone attack on the refinery in the spring of 2024 damaged the primary processing unit at the plant.

The refinery is located more than 1,000 km from the war zone."

Background: 

• On 2 April 2024, drones attacked Russian facilities in the cities of Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan. Local authorities claimed that no serious damage had been caused and that the technological process of the facilities had not been disrupted. Ukrainska Pravda sources in Ukraine's Defence Intelligence confirmed that the bombardment had been a special operation by Ukrainian intelligence. The drones attacked a plant that assembles Iranian-made Shahed loitering munitions, labelled as Geran-2, which are frequently used by Russian forces to terrorise Ukraine.
• One drone struck the Taneko oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, hitting a processing unit and sparking a fire. Ukrainska Pravda sources revealed that the attack on the refinery was a joint operation by Ukraine's Security Service and Defence Intelligence. UP reported that a Ukrainian drone had struck the primary oil distillation tower at the plant.
• Andrii Yusov, a representative of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, stressed that no foreign-made weapons had been used in the drone strikes on facilities in the Russian cities of Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk.

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