Ukraine hits Russian refineries and Military Infrastructure Again

November 5, 2025November 6, 2025

Last night, friendly birds visited the Yaroslavl region in the Swamps¹ and struck local oil pumping stations (OPS). They continue the campaign “Not a Day Without Oil Infrastructure”. Indeed, since early August, strikes on oil and gas infrastructure have been happening almost daily, and the systematic nature of these strikes is becoming increasingly painful for the enemy. Another day — another hit: Ukraine hits Russian refineries, pushing the energy war deeper into enemy rear. No wonder they’re desperately trying to hide the scale of losses from such strikes. About this episode, the enemy press, citing local gauleiter Yevraev, wrote the following:

As a result of an attack by enemy UAVs on the energy infrastructure of the Yaroslavl region, minor damage was inflicted on oil refining stations in two districts of the region.

This statement brought back memories of the missile cruiser “Moskva”. The very first enemy reports about the flagship had roughly the same wording. Yes, there’s minor damage, but the ship is fine. It will soon be in Sevastopol. But as it turned out later, the cruiser “moskva” was already releasing funny bubbles from the seabed. But the Orcs² still believed that only some paint got slightly scorched. Everything was fine with the ship, they thought.

Where the Oil Actually Flows

In reality, everything looks even more interesting if we consider where exactly these stations pump oil. Open sources describe in detail the purpose of two such stations, and these are probably the ones hit last night. So:

OPS “Palkino” (commissioned in 1983) — initially provided oil supply to the Novopolotsk refinery (Belarus) and the port of Ventspils (Latvia). Since the 2000s, it’s been included in the Baltic Pipeline System leading to the port of Primorsk.

Systematic Campaign Takes Shape

Quite familiar geography, right? And while Ventspils is no longer relevant because oil hasn’t been going there for a long time, the Novopolotsk refinery is a different story. Potato duce Lukashenko ordered both his refineries to operate at maximum capacity because the petroleum products they produce compensate for the fuel deficit in the Swamps. Well, and the port of Primorsk has already been attacked by our drones, and it’s clear that this creates problems for crude oil exports via the northern route.

In this case, this station pumps oil not only to that same Primorsk but also to two specific consumers: the Novo-Yaroslavl refinery (“Slavneft-YANOS”) in Yaroslavl and “Kirishinefteorgsintez” (KINEF), located in Kirishi, Leningrad province. The names are familiar because friendly birds have already visited both these enterprises. Well, the one in Kirishi is not only the largest in the northern region of the European part of the chicken coop, but its actual owner is “Surgutneftegaz” — Khuilo’s³ family company.

So with these strikes, our military complicates the transportation of crude oil both to the marine terminal in Primorsk and to the enemy’s pompous refineries. Ukraine hits Russian refineries as part of a coordinated and systematic campaign, turning each strike into another disruption of the occupiers’ fuel lifeline. Everyone understands that such strikes will become cyclical, and all the infrastructure mentioned above will undoubtedly suffer from this program. Now it’s becoming clear that the pipeline itself, on which these OPS are located, is already part of the target bank, and now the question is only when and what will fly at these assets again.

More Targets Hit the Same Night

And the fact that something will definitely fly is confirmed by another group of targets hit the same night. We’re talking about the “Vladimirskaya” substation in the Vladimir region. The Orcs themselves, in the person of their gauleiter, write about this:

Specialists are working on site. With the onset of daylight, elimination of consequences will begin. Please remain calm. All life support systems are operating in normal mode.

A thermal power plant in Orel was also attacked the same night, this is already the second strike on the facility. The first strike came on October 31st. That strike used a missile, possibly a “Neptune.” The hit came on an open switchgear. Where it hit today isn’t quite clear yet. However, according to initial reports, missiles or jet drones hit the target.

Why Orel Thermal Power Plant Matters

Let’s recall that this thermal power plant supplies electricity to the Orcs’ military enterprises:

• JSC “Oreltekhmash”: specializes in the production of mobile technical service and repair equipment for the army, mobile equipment based on special-purpose van bodies, complexes for military needs. Over the past year, growth rates here exceeded 360%, and the enterprise’s products officially belong to defense and dual-use products.
• Orel Steel Rolling Plant: one of the region’s largest production facilities, manufactures metal structures and products from ferrous metals, often supplied to military and infrastructure facilities.
  Mtsensk Foundry: engages in the production of cast metal parts, including for military equipment and automotive transport used by the Russian military-industrial complex.
• New complex of JSC “Severstal Steel Solutions”: a plant with a modern automated line for producing metal structures, important for engineering and military facilities of the Russian military-industrial complex.

Also, the thermal power plant in Orel supplies electricity to dozens of smaller assembly, metalworking, and forge-press shops in Orel and Mtsensk engaged in manufacturing components for military cargo vehicles and special equipment for the Orc army. Thus, it is a legitimate military target.

The New Reality on the Swamps

In short, the night passed loudly and colorfully — and the Orcs themselves, looking at what’s happening, probably have already started to figure out where all this is heading. On this same day but a year ago, they couldn’t have dreamed of anything like this even in a nightmare. Now Ukraine hits Russian refineries almost daily, and each strike makes the Swamps’ “rear” look less and less safe. But now this is the harsh reality in the Swamps.

¹Swamps – ironic name for Russia, emphasizing decay, stagnation, and filth.

²Orcs – a common term for Russians who support or participate in the armed aggression against Ukraine. Dehumanizing? Yes. Accurate? Also yes.

³Khuilo – the most popular nickname for Russian dictator V. Putin. First used during the 2014 invasion, and since 2022 most Ukrainians call him only that. See more on Wikipedia.