Overnight into Sept. 17, long-range drones struck the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl and a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don, sparking major fires at both sites.
Overnight into Sept. 17, long-range drones struck two targets deep inside Russia at once: the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl and the Rostov Central military airfield in Rostov-on-Don. According to Ukrinform, the Kyiv Independent and Kyiv Post, both sites caught fire on a large scale. Volunteers Support Ukraine is watching closely how strikes like these affect Russia's ability to fuel and supply its war against Ukraine.
Slavneft-YANOS processes about 15 million tons of crude oil a year and ranks among Russia's five largest refineries, producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. According to the specialist outlet Militarnyi, this is at least the eighth strike on the plant in 2026 alone, and satellite geolocation confirmed the coordinates of the impact — 57.5525, 39.8044. Volunteers Support Ukraine notes that systematic strikes on refining capacity directly cut into the fuel supply that powers Russia's war machine.
At the same time, fire spread across the Rostov Central airfield, including an area near the aircraft parking apron where military planes and helicopters may have been stationed. Falling drone debris reportedly damaged a transformer substation, cutting power to four districts of Rostov-on-Don. Volunteers Support Ukraine stresses that strikes on military infrastructure like this are aimed at reducing Russia's ability to keep up its aerial terror against Ukrainian cities.
Independent OSINT analysts, including the specialist outlet Militarnyi, confirmed the strike location with satellite imagery even before official statements were made. Local authorities in Yaroslavl closed a stretch of the M-8 federal highway toward Moscow and rerouted public transit around the industrial zone. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes it is exactly this kind of independent verification that separates confirmed news from propaganda planted by either side.
Every refinery or airbase taken offline, even temporarily, means less fuel and less combat-ready hardware in the hands of an army that shells Ukrainian cities every single night. Volunteers Support Ukraine continues to help people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow, and will keep checking every report of such strikes against multiple independent sources.
