Recent satellite imagery showed damage and changes at two oil and military facilities in southern Russia after Ukrainian strikes targeted the Ilsky Oil Refinery in Krasnodar Krai and the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant in Rostov Oblast on the night of 26 September 2026, as part of attacks on facilities linked to Russia’s energy sector and military industries.
Ukrainian army announces strikes on the two facilities
The Ukrainian army confirmed that the Ilsky Refinery had been targeted, saying a fire broke out inside it. It also announced that facilities at the Azov plant had been hit, reporting a fire in the foundry area and damage to equipment spread across five production buildings. Images captured by satellites operated by Planet and Vantor show the two sites before and after the strikes.
A visual comparison of images of the Ilsky Refinery reveals clear changes between an image captured on 20 September and another taken on 26 September, after the attack. The changes appear at several refinery facilities, including areas within processing units and around tank farms, while those effects were not visible in the earlier image.
Ukraine’s General Staff said on 26 September that Ukrainian defence forces had struck the refinery overnight and that a fire had broken out at the facility. The Ilsky Refinery has an annual capacity of about 6.6 million tonnes of crude oil. Its operations include receiving, storing and processing hydrocarbons, as well as producing and shipping oil products.
Structural damage at the Azov plant
The September strike was not the first to target the refinery in 2026, as it had previously come under attack in February, June, July and August of the same year, amid the widening Ukrainian strikes on Russian refining facilities. In Rostov Oblast, high-resolution satellite images captured by US company Vantor detected damage at the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant complex after it was targeted on the same night.
The images show collapses and structural damage at several buildings in the complex, as well as debris scattered around some facilities and visible changes to the roofs of production halls. Other images show breaches and cavities in the roofs of several industrial buildings, along with partial collapses and signs of burning and charring in parts of the complex.
These visible indicators in the images correspond with the Ukrainian General Staff’s announcement that a fire broke out in the foundry and that equipment inside five production buildings at the plant was damaged. In a separate statement, Ukraine’s security services said the damage affected optical production facilities, the foundry, the assembly section and the galvanising workshop, as well as the section responsible for manufacturing printed circuit boards.
Ukraine reveals means and targets of attack
It said units of Ukraine’s security service and navy took part in carrying out the attack using Neptune missiles and drones, according to the official Ukrainian account. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the targeted facilities help supply Russian forces with components used in ballistic missiles, artillery and Pantsir-S2 air-defence systems.
He added that Ukraine’s security, defence and naval forces were continuing to strike facilities linked to the war, noting that they had also achieved results in the Black Sea. According to Ukrainian statements, the Azov plant’s military importance stems from its links to a Russian company operating in the missile industry.
Ukraine’s General Staff says the plant produces optoelectronic equipment and technical systems used to equip artillery and missile systems and anti-armour weapons, as well as radar guidance heads for tactical guided missiles. The strike on the Ilsky Refinery is part of a broader campaign targeting Russian refining facilities during 2026.
Attacks on Russian refineries intensify
The International Energy Agency said in an analysis published on 17 September that the pace of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries had increased sharply, with a major Russian refinery coming under attack once every three days during the first eight months of the year.
