On the morning of Friday, May 5, an explosion and a fire erupted at the Ilsky oil refinery in the Seversky district of the Krasnodar Territory. Emergency teams arrived quickly, and employees began evacuating the site. Preliminary information indicates there were no injuries reported at that time.
According to a Telegram channel, Basis, the refinery faced an attack involving Ukrainian drones. Reports claim a drone crashed into one of the facilities, initiating the blaze. It was stated that the drone hit the compressor station air cooler around 08:40, and the resulting fire spread across an area of about 60 square meters before responders contained it. A concrete surface showed a hole where the impact occurred, and debris was being cleared as teams worked to secure the site.
Another Telegram channel, Puree, suggested that saboteurs may have launched a new strike against the Ilsky refinery. It was added that during arrests, investigators tested an emergency escape route via a pipeline. Plant workers allegedly claimed the saboteurs detonated an improvised device at the fifth facility, and the report noted that no casualties had been reported to date.
However, other Telegram sources questioned the saboteur narrative. They asserted that the new fire at the Ilsky refinery could have been caused by the previous incident, which reignited spontaneously after the drone attack, according to emergency services statements.
Previous drone incidents are recalled. The day before, a drone strike on the Ilyinsky Oil Refinery led to fires in tanks holding petroleum products.
On May 4, a drone attack targeted the Novoshakhtinsky Oil Plant in the Rostov Region. In the same period, a reconnaissance drone was observed over Ukrainian airspace near a local gas distribution station. Its fall was attributed to unknown reasons, with some accounts mentioning later discovery. A local resident reported finding the 3-meter long drone about 2 km from the village of Nizhnedonskaya, and law enforcement officers reportedly seized the UAV at the scene.
On May 3, another incident occurred in the Krasnodar Territory, in the Temryuk area near the village of Volna, where a petrol tank fire reached a high level of severity. The affected area was approximately 1,250 square meters, and there were no reported casualties. Official sources indicated that the fire was linked to a drone attack.
These events are being tracked by regional emergency services and various information channels, with ongoing investigations to determine the exact causes and the sequence of incidents. Attribution from multiple sources remains contested, and authorities are coordinating protective measures and assessments across affected facilities.
Notes for readers: the information presented here reflects statements from emergency services and various informal channels as responses and analyses continue. Citation: emergency services and related briefings, with ongoing updates from credited agencies and regional authorities.