Moment Ukrainian kamikaze drone hits huge oil refinery in Volgograd in first air raid on Russian city since Hitler 81 years ago

A major oil refinery was hit by two massive explosions during a kamikaze drone attack in Volgograd – the first air raid on the city, formerly called Stalingrad, since Hitler's failed invasion 81 years ago.

The moment of the suspected Ukrainian attack at 4:49 a.m. was captured in dramatic footage.

The attack on the Lukoil facility came the day after the city marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the epic Battle of Stalingrad in World War II.

The Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia is one of the largest in the country and was modernized shortly before the war at a cost of £105 million.

It produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as fuel for ships.

“I woke up at 4:20 am to a very strong explosion, and about half an hour later there was a second one, but not as strong as the first,” said a local resident.

The inferno from the explosion covered about 3,200 square meters, Volgograd region Governor Andrei Bocharov said.

He later reported: 'The fire has been localized, open burning has been eliminated. There are no victims.'

The attack in Volgograd is the latest in a recent series of attacks by Ukraine on oil and gas facilities crucial to Vladimir Putin's economy, fueling the war.

Volgograd is about 400 miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled area.

The attack represents a failure for Russian air defense.

Lukoil is Russia's second largest oil company and has close ties with the Kremlin.

In other nighttime attacks, Russian military and civilian authorities reported downed drones over the Voronezh, Belgorod and Rostov regions.

Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's energy infrastructure with strikes designed to disrupt supply lines and logistics and demoralize their opponent as they try to gain the edge in a nearly two-year-old conflict that shows no sign of ending are.

Russia's energy infrastructure has also been hit by technical glitches in the past month, adding to uncertainty in global oil and gas markets already roiled by conflict in the Middle East.

Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said on the local government's Telegram channel that there were no casualties in the incident.

“As a result of the fall of a crashed UAV, a fire broke out at the Volgograd oil refinery. Fire and rescue services quickly got to work – the fire was quickly localized, the open fire was eliminated. There are no casualties,” he said.

Oil producer Lukoil, which owns the refinery, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Volgograd oil refinery on the Volga has a capacity to process 14.8 million tons (almost 300,000 barrels per day) of crude oil per year.

Another Lukoil oil refinery, NORSI, also suffered outages in January. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said repairs to the refinery will take at least one to one and a half months.

Last week, Putin lost another general in his war against Ukraine.

Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko, 63, was the eldest of 10 soldiers killed in a suspected Storm Shadow missile attack on Belbek air base in occupied Crimea.

He was commander of the base used for attacks on Ukraine and to consolidate Russia's hold on the Black Sea Peninsula.

Russia has not officially announced Tatarenko's death in the attack two days ago, but several pro-war Russian military Telegram channels confirmed initial reports.

Spy Dossier channel reported that 'seven Storm Shadow/SCALP ALCMs of British-French make were launched towards the airport.

“Four were shot down by air defense forces, three hit the target.”

In particular, on Wednesday between 5:31 PM and 5:42 PM, two rockets hit the command post of the 38th Fighter Aviation Regiment [military unit 80159, Belbek].

“Another hit the communications point at the airport.”

“Ten soldiers were killed as a result of the attack,” the report said.

“Among the dead is the commander of the aviation squadron of the fighter regiment, Alexander Tatarenko.”

Crimean Wind – a Ukrainian channel – reported: “Ten Russian soldiers were liquidated, including the commander of the aviation squadron, Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko.”

The missiles came via a new route, by sea, rather than by land, reports said.

Tatarenko is believed to be the thirteenth Russian general to die in the 23-month war.

He was married and reportedly retired before the war, but returned to service after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He graduated from the Stavropol Higher Military Aviation School for Air Defense Pilots and Navigators in 1981, from the Military Academy of Air Defense in 1994, and from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 2008.

Before his retirement, he was a pilot on Su-17, Su-27 and An-26 aircraft.

At the end of November, Russia lost 45-year-old Major General Vladimir Zavadsky, deputy commander of the 14th Army Corps.

According to reports, he was killed by an exploding Russian mine.