Following a drone attack on Yaroslavl that took place on the morning of Aug. 28, a major fire broke out on the grounds of the Slavneft-YANOS refinery, Ukrainian Telegram channels report. Footage published by eyewitnesses shows smoke rising from the plant’s grounds. Russian authorities have not yet confirmed a strike on the plant, nor the existence of a fire.
However, Yaroslavl Region Governor Mikhail Yevraev warned of a drone threat early in the morning, and authorities blocked the route out of Yaroslavl toward Moscow starting from the intersection of Moskovsky Avenue and the Yugo-Zapadnaya Ring Road. Buses were rerouted via Suzdalskoye Highway and Kalinina Street, and intermunicipal routes along the blocked section of the M8 highway were temporarily suspended.
Yevraev later reported that kindergartens No. 98 and No. 28 had been closed “due to the need to eliminate the consequences of a drone attack.” Children were redirected to nearby preschools, though the governor did not specify the nature of the damage. Exilenova+ also published footage showing blown-out windows and damage to apartment buildings. There is no information on casualties so far.
Slavneft-YANOS was launched in 1961. The plant processes roughly 15 million metric tons of oil per year, making it one of Russia’s five largest oil refineries. Slavneft’s main refining asset, YANOS, produces Euro-5 gasoline and diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, jet fuel, oils, bitumen, liquefied gas, and fuel oil. The company is controlled jointly by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft on a parity basis.
This is not the first fire the plant has experienced in 2026, as Ukrainian attacks on March 28, April 26, May 8 and 22, July 6 and 16, and August 6 led to similar consequences. After the Aug. 6 attack, regional governor Yevraev confirmed that drone debris had hit the refinery’s storage tanks and caused a fire, but only did so several hours after the first eyewitness reports.
