Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Ukrainian forces reportedly attacked a military airfield in Russia’s Rostov Oblast during the night of September 16, while a fire broke out at the Yaroslavl oil refinery following reports of a drone attack. The Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ published images purportedly showing the moment of an attack on a military airfield in Rostov Oblast. A second video posted by the channel appeared to show an additional explosion at the scene. The governor of the Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, claimed on Telegram that the drones were destroyed overnight in the Millerovsky and Kamensky districts as Russian forces repelled an airstrike in the region. He stated that there were no reports of casualties or damage on the ground at the time. Rostov Oblast is home to several Russian military aviation facilities and has been repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine attacked the Millerovo military airfield in Rostov Oblast in late August, destroying several Russian radar systems and damaging aviation infrastructure, according to the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces. Separately, Telegram media channels reported that drones entered the industrial zone of the Yaroslavl oil refinery before publishing images that appeared to show the facility on fire following explosions. In the recent past, Ukrainian drones have attacked oil refineries in this area. At the time of publication, the Kyiv Independent was unable to independently verify the reports or the extent of the damage caused. Ukraine’s military has not commented publicly on the latest reported attacks. Ukraine has embarked on a campaign of repeated attacks on Russian airfields, defense facilities, oil infrastructure and other military-linked sites in an effort to undermine Moscow’s ability to wage its full-scale war. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have become one of the most economically significant aspects of kyiv’s long-range drone campaign, contributing to fuel shortages and sharply reducing Russian production over the summer.
