An attempted drone strike against an oil refinery deep within Russia was thwarted on Monday morning, according to regional authorities.
“The Slavneft-Yanos refinery’s electronic warfare system prevented a drone attack,” Yaroslavl region Governor Mikhail Yevrayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
The strike attempt marks the first in the Yaroslavl region — which is located over 100 kilometers northeast of Moscow and 700 kilometers from the border with Ukraine — since Moscow invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Yevrayev said no one was injured in the drone incident and no infrastructure was damaged, adding that “law enforcement agencies and special services are working at the scene.”
Video published by the local news outlet 76.ru showed emergency crews and medics parked near the oil refinery, which was reportedly cordoned off after the attack.
Slavneft describes itself as one of Russia’s top 10 largest crude oil producers.
Reuters estimates the Yaroslavl plant’s annual capacity at 15 million metric tons, or 300,000 barrels per day.
Fuel output was briefly interrupted but was not affected by Monday's drone strike, Reuters said, citing an anonymous source familiar with the situation.
Several fires have broken out at oil and gas facilities amid drone strikes across Russia in recent weeks.
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for three drone strikes in northwestern Russia’s Leningrad region earlier this month.
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