this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2025
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Wow, that was a fireball to mention! What structure especially did they hit?
I’m by no means an expert in the oil refinery process, or in modern warfare techniques, but my understanding is that Ukrainian drones largely target what is called the Fractionating column, which is the heart of a refinery.
In a nutshell, oil is refined by heating crude oil and drawing off liquids at different temperatures. Fuel oil liquifies at one temperature, lubricating oil at another, kerosene at another, etc. The fractionating column is where all of this takes place. You can see a simplified graphic here.
Since that’s the key component of a refinery it’s obviously a prime target for drone attacks etc. And if the refinery is in active operation then it means there’s plenty of volatile fuel around to create a fireball like this.
My understanding from reading various articles about past refinery attacks is that there are some components in fractionating columns that rely on Western components, and are difficult for Russia to replace while it's under sanctions.