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Ukraine Says Targets Russian Yaroslavl oil Refinery Near Moscow

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said the country's defense forces targeted the Yaroslavl oil refinery, about 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow, overnight.

"Today, there was a report from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on the use of long-range drones against Russian oil refineries and export positions," Zelenskiy said in a social media post.

"In particular, last night, Ukraine's Defense Forces operated in the direction of the Yaroslavl oil refinery - that's about 700 kilometers from our territory. We are bringing the war home, to Russia, and this is entirely fair," Zelenskiy said.

He did not explicitly confirm a strike or damage to the facility, though the fact he was commenting on the matter seemed to imply it had been successful.

The refinery, officially known as Slavneft-Yanos, is owned by Russian energy company Slavneft.

It processes about 15 million metric tons of crude oil annually, according to its website, with its refining product slate including motor gasolines and diesel fuel of Euro-5 standard, jet fuel, a wide range of oils, bitumen, paraffin and wax products, aromatic hydrocarbons, liquified petroleum gas and fuel oil.

On Thursday, Zelenskiy said the Syzran Oil Refinery in Russia's Samara region, owned and operated by state-backed oil giant Rosneft, was targeted by a Ukrainian strike.

The Syzran Oil Refinery has an annual processing capacity of 7 million-8.9 million tons and is part of Rosneft's Samara oil refining hub. It produces gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel along with other petroleum products, the post added.

Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks, with Russian officials noting that the number of targeted refineries has doubled since the start of the year. The strikes have also hit pipelines and storage sites, according to a Reuters report.

Among the facilities listed as affected are the Kirishi refinery in western Russia, the Moscow oil refinery, and plants in Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, and Yaroslavl.

has reached out to the Russian Energy Ministry and Slavneft for a comment.

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