Russia's Filanovsky rig hit in first-ever Ukrainian drone strike on offshore oil fields

Ukraine's drones struck an offshore Russian oil field in the Caspian Sea on Thursday, which caused a major halt in oil production.

At least four long-range aerial drones hit the Filanovsky rig, halting operations in more than 20 oil and gas wells operated by Russia's second-largest oil company, Lukoil, as per an official from Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).

"This is Ukraine’s first strike on Russian infrastructure related to oil production in the Caspian Sea,” the official told CNN.

Neither Russian authorities nor Lukoil have confirmed the attack or reports of a production halt at the oil rig situated 700km away from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The Filanovsky rig is said to be one of the largest in the Russian section of the Caspian Sea, capable of producing about 6 million tonnes per year (roughly 120,000 barrels of oil per day).

This is the latest sign of Kyiv's ramped-up efforts to target Moscow's oil facilities and attack its use of revenue from energy exports to fund the war, which is nearing its fourth year.

Since 2024, the intensified deep strike campaign has included not only oil production facilities, but also various parts of the oil production ecosystem, such as pipelines and tankers.

This comes just before another Ukrainian strike on the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Russia' Yaroslavl—another of the largest oil refineries in the country—setting it ablaze overnight into Friday morning.

The Yaroslavl plant, which produces about 15 million tonnes of crude per year, is said to be a major producer of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Visuals from the vicinity of the strike zone show thick, black plumes of smoke issuing from the oil facility after a blinding flash of light. However, the extent of damage of the strikes on the Yaroslavl plant, and their impact on production, is still unclear.