Saratov
Volga city and capital of Saratov Oblast, home to Rosneft's Saratov oil refinery.
Saratov's Rosneft refinery was among the plants Defence Minister Yevhen Khmara named in October 2026 behind Ukraine's claim, made on 4 October, to have disabled 51% of Russian refining. The Associated Press could not verify the figure.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026
Timeline for Saratov
Mentioned in: Ukraine strikes Yandex AI data centres
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
Saratov is a city on the Volga and the capital of Saratov Oblast. Its refinery, one of the oldest in Russia, belongs to the state oil company Rosneft, and it is that plant that puts the city on Ukraine's target list.
In October 2026 Ukraine's Defence Minister, Yevhen Khmara, named Saratov among the refineries behind Kyiv's claim to have knocked out 51% of Russian refining capacity. The Associated Press could not verify that figure. Bloomberg counted four Russian refineries hit in The Week of 5 to 9 October alone, while Washington pressed Kyiv to halt the strikes.
A refinery on the Volga, deep inside Russia, now sits within reach of Ukrainian long-range drones, and Saratov stays exposed for as long as Kyiv's campaign against Russian fuel continues.