In the early hours of August 6 the Russian city Yaroslavl was subjected to massaging drone attack.
The attack necessitated emergency security measures, including a temporary suspension of traffic on the city's main exit to the Russian capital.
The governor of Yaroslavl region Mikhail Evraev officially confirmed on his Telegram channel (t.me/mikhail_evraev) that the region was attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). For security reasons, the authorities immediately closed road traffic from the intersection of Moskovsky Prospekt and the South-Western Ring Road. The signal for “danger from unmanned aerial vehicles“ remains in effect until the threat is completely neutralized.
Probable target: The Yaroslavl Oil Refinery
Official statements from the Russian Ministry of Defense (mil.ru) and the local administration have not yet revealed details about the damage and specific targets of the strike. However, local residents shared videos on social media, in which a series of explosions can be heard and air defenses can be seen working.
According to information from the specialized news channel Exilenova+ (t.me/exilenova), the main target of the attack was the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery. This is one of the largest oil refineries in Russia, located about 700 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The plant is of key logistical importance for supplying the Russian army. It was already the target of successful air strikes in late July, which was confirmed in a statement by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by the Ukrinform agency (ukrinform.net).
Chronology of deep strikes against Russian energy
The current drone attack in Yaroslavl is a continuation of Ukraine's increased pressure on Russian energy infrastructure. In the past few days alone, refinery capacities in Salavat, Ryazan, and Volgograd have been taken out of service. According to Reuters (reuters.com), systematic drone attacks have led to historic levels of downtime at processing facilities in the Russian Federation this month.
At 6:06 Bulgarian time Russian emergency services continue to work on the ground in the Yaroslavl region. There are still no final figures from independent sources on possible casualties or fires in the city's industrial zone.