On December 19, 2024, a large-scale airstrike by Ukraine resulted in a significant fire at the Novoshajtinsk oil refinery, the largest in southern Russia, located in the Rostov region near the border with Ukraine. Acting Governor Yuri Sliusar reported that over three dozen drones and three missiles were used in the offensive.
Sliusar indicated that most of the Ukrainian drones were intercepted, and air defense forces were deployed to protect several areas including Taganrog, Bataysk, Rostov, Shakhty, Kamensk, Millerovo, and Novoshakhtinsk. He did not specify the extent of the damage to the refinery, which had previously been targeted by drone strikes in June 2022, but confirmed that the fire had been extinguished.
Additionally, Sliusar mentioned that a person was injured in a nearby village due to falling drone debris, but received necessary medical assistance. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that during the night, a total of 84 Ukrainian drones were shot down across seven regions of Russia, with 36 intercepted in the Rostov region alone.
The other drones were downed in the regions of Bryansk (21), Belgorod (14), Voronezh (6), Kursk (3), Tambov (3), and Krasnodar (1). The border regions of Russia have frequently been targeted by Ukrainian attacks. Just last week, two separate incidents caused a fire in Rostov and damaged an industrial facility in Bryansk.
This latest attack occurred hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual year-end press conference and shortly after the assassination of Igor Kirillov, head of the chemical weapons division of the Russian military. An Uzbek citizen who admitted to being recruited by Ukrainian special forces and provided details about the attack has been detained as a suspect, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.