On Saturday, June 20, the Defense Forces of Ukraine carried out a strike on the Tyumen oil refinery, approximately 2,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. This once again demonstrates Ukrainian drones' ability to cover vast distances and strike strategic targets deep inside russia.
Early signs of the strike emerged in the morning, when authorities in Tyumen issued an air alert following reports of incoming drones. According to local residents, the refinery urgently began releasing pressure from its systems. Around 1:00 p.m., at least two powerful explosions were heard. The governor of Tyumen Oblast, Alexander Moor initially stated that the attack had been repelled, but later confirmed that debris had fallen onto the refinery's grounds and that personnel had been evacuated.
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Residents of the Antipino district, where the refinery is situated, shared videos on social media showing thick plumes of smoke and a convoy of about ten fire trucks rushing to the site. Journalists from the ASTRA project analyzed eyewitness videos and confirmed heavy smoke over the refinery site.
The Tyumen oil refinery is the largest oil refinery in Western Siberia. Its design capacity is between 7.5 and 9 million metric tons of crude oil per year. The refinery supplies fuel to a significant portion of the Ural and Siberian Federal Districts and also exports its products via a pipeline network.
Analysts estimate that even a temporary shutdown of the facility could lead to gasoline and diesel shortages in the region within weeks. russian media are already reporting rising fuel prices in the Tyumen Oblast and neighboring regions.
The attack on the Tyumen oil refinery was the latest in a series of strikes against russian oil refining facilities that have been ongoing since 2024. According to independent monitoring groups, since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has damaged or forced the shutdown of more than 15 large refineries in russia. The total refining capacity loss exceeds 1.2 million barrels per day.
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