Drone attack reported on oil refinery in Russia's Perm

Early on August 21, a drone attack was reportedly carried out on an oil refinery in Russia's Perm Krai, according to Telegram media channels. Ukrainian sources, through their Telegram channel Exilenova+, shared videos allegedly depicting explosions and flames in the city of Perm, located approximately 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away from Ukraine. Local residents, as reported by Exilenova+, witnessed a sequence of explosions at the refinery.

The OSINT analysts from ASTRA, an independent Russian Telegram channel, analyzed the footage and geolocated it to indicate smoke emerging near the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery. Authorities issued warnings to residents about incoming unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) around 6:30 a.m. local time. Concurrently, temporary flight restrictions were implemented at Bolshoe Savino airport in Perm, as reported by ASTRA, although these restrictions have since been lifted.

Russia's Defense Ministry asserted that its air defenses successfully intercepted and neutralized 325 Ukrainian drones during the preceding night. However, the credibility of the shared footage and the true extent of any damage remains unverified by the Kyiv Independent as of the publication date. On July 29, a prior attack also targeted the Lukoil-operated Perm oil refinery, one of Russia's largest. The nature of this reported attack on August 21 has not been commented upon by any officials.