Ukrainian drones halt Perm, Russia's 7th largest refinery, and Novoshakhtinsk; Moscow claims it downed 592 drones, 2 people killed

According to a Reuters report cited by Meduza, the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery in Perm halted processing after a fire broke out following the attack on the night of 25 September. By output, the facility is Russia's 7th largest refinery; in 2024 it had an annual crude processing capacity of 12.6 million tonnes and produced 2 million tonnes of petrol and 5.3 million tonnes of diesel. The Kyiv Independent and Kyiv Post give the capacity as 13 million tonnes. According to Rostov Governor Slyusar, the Novoshakhtinsk refinery was damaged and production was temporarily halted; its capacity is 7.5 million tonnes according to the Kyiv Independent, 5.6 million tonnes according to the Kyiv Post, and around 100,000 barrels a day according to The Moscow Times.

The parties diverge on casualty and drone figures. Russia's Defence Ministry claimed it had downed 592 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, Crimea and the Black Sea; the Ukrainian side did not disclose the number of drones used and the Russian figure could not be independently verified. Ukraine's General Staff, for its part, reported striking 2 refineries, 3 missile production facilities and radar stations, among them the Iskra plant in Ulyanovsk, part of Almaz-Antey. According to Russian officials, 1 person was killed in Perm and 1 in Belgorod; 8 people, including 1 child, were wounded in Ulyanovsk and, according to Meduza, 13 in Voronezh.

The attack comes at a time when Russia's domestic fuel market is already under strain. According to The Moscow Times, the national average petrol price rose to 78.51 roubles per litre as of 14 September, up 21% since the start of the year; odd-even sales by licence plate were introduced in Kaluga, and a limit of 30 litres per vehicle until 1 October in the Leningrad region. Russia has banned petrol exports until 31 January 2027 and diesel exports until the end of October.