Ukraine just bombed Russia's biggest oil refinery for the second time

Ukraine just hit Russia's biggest oil refinery for the second time in three months.

And this time the drones flew more than 2,500 kilometres to get there.

The strike happened a few hours ago at the Omsk refinery, deep in Siberia. Ukraine's General Staff has confirmed it. The drones used were upgraded FP-1 long-range drones, built by the Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point.

So who owns this refinery? Gazprom Neft, Russia's state energy company. And it's not just any refinery. It processes more than 21 million tonnes of crude oil a year. Some reports say 22.23 million. Either way, it's the biggest one Russia has.

Local residents reported two explosions. And smoke rising from the refinery grounds.

Fire Point says the strike started a fire there. Astra, an independent Russian outlet, looked at an eyewitness photo and reached the same conclusion.

But here's the gap. The one person actually speaking for the region isn't saying that much.

Vitaly Khotsenko is the governor of Omsk Oblast. He confirmed a drone attack on the region. He said one drone reached the city's northern industrial hub. He did not confirm the refinery itself was damaged.

So on one side, the drone maker and an independent Russian outlet both say it's on fire. On the other side, the governor won't go that far.

Now here's the twist. This is not the first time Ukraine has hit this exact refinery.

Ukraine struck Omsk once before, on 6 July this year. That strike hit the plant's main processing unit. That unit alone handles around 8.4 million tonnes of oil a year. The refinery suspended operations afterwards. Reports at the time said a unit making up roughly 38% of the refinery's total capacity was damaged and caught fire.