Drones are flying farther and farther: russia reports drone attack on oil refinery in Tyumen, 1,900 km from its borders

On Saturday, June 20, russian authorities reported a drone attack on the Tyumen Oil Refinery, located about 1,900 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

Due to the threat of strikes, a “drone hazard” alert was declared in the Tyumen Oblast, and the plant’s staff had to be evacuated immediately.

The region’s governor, Alexander Moor, has reported this on his official Telegram channel.

The first message from the head of the Tyumen Oblast appeared at 11:25 a.m. local time. Moor announced the introduction of a special danger regime, calling it a “preventive measure,” and urged local residents not to approach any possible drone debris. The russian official also separately threatened criminal punishment for sharing photos and videos online of air defense operations or drone crash sites.

Just two hours later, at 1:36 p.m., the governor stated that the drone attack on the Tyumen Oil Refinery had allegedly been repelled, but confirmed that debris had fallen on the facility’s grounds.

“Emergency response specialists are working at the crash site. According to preliminary information, the plant was not damaged, and employees have been evacuated. I am personally monitoring the situation,” Moor wrote.

Despite the authorities’ assurances that there was no damage, The Moscow Times quickly refuted the official’s statements. Residents of the Antipino neighborhood, where the refinery is located, began reporting en masse on social media about at least two powerful explosions.

Journalists from the ASTRA project analyzed eyewitness videos filmed near the facility and confirmed that a thick plume of smoke was rising above the plant. In addition, local residents observed a convoy of at least ten fire trucks speeding toward the site of the incident to extinguish the fire.

The Tyumen Oil Refinery is the largest oil refinery in Western Siberia, with a processing capacity of over 7 million metric tons of crude oil per year.

Later, Serhii Sternenko, an adviser to the Minister of Defense, confirmed the attack on the Tyumen Oil Refinery.

"Defense forces attacked the Tyumen Oil Refinery, located 2,000 km from Ukraine. Local residents report at least two explosions. Prior to this, an alert was issued in the city due to drones, and the plant itself urgently relieved pressure in the system,” Sternenko stated on his page on X.

Meanwhile, as the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in the temporarily occupied Crimea, the Tavria Thermal Power Plant near Simferopol caught fire on the night of June 20 following a drone attack.