Media: Ryazan Oil Refinery Attacked By Ukrainian Powerful Drone ‘Lyutyi’

Where else has it been spotted?

On March 13, 2024, the Ryazan oil refinery in Russia was likely attacked by a “Lyutyi” unmanned aerial vehicle. The Defense Express website says this with a reference to Russian sources.

Also, the Ukrainian Telegram channel “Colonel GS”, with a reference to the Russians, published a video of the attack on the Ryazan oil refinery, in which you can see a drone. Particularly, a UAV, visually similar to the “Lyutyi” model.

According to sources, in particular, the vacuum unit of the refinery was hit; the explosion could lead to a shutdown of production for a long time. Russian sources also have the opinion that it was “Lyutyi” that attacked the enterprise.

The “Lyutyi” UAV is a Ukrainian kamikaze drone that was first demonstrated in model form in November 2023. Open sources indicate little information about the drone: it is known that the flight range is more than 1000 km and the weight of the warhead is 75 kg. These data indicate the drone’s ability to deliver powerful strikes far beyond Ukraine’s borders. The Ryazan Oil Refinery is located 450 km from Ukraine.

Defense Express experts believe that the “Lyutyi” drone may be involved in other attacks on Russian targets that took place in February and March 2024. In their opinion, this indicates the systematic use of powerful attack drones by Ukraine. The drone’s high accuracy was also noted: it was able to get into the high tower of the refinery’s vacuum unit, several tens of meters high and several meters in diameter.

The “Lyutyi” UAV may be involved in an attack on the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after. G. M. Beriev, which was engaged in the repair of the Russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft. According to satellite photos, after the attack the Russian plane disappeared from an open area at the airfield.

Another possible place for using “Lyutyi” was the metallurgical plant in Lipetsk. According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, this Russian enterprise is directly involved in the military-industrial complex of the aggressor country.