A video of an explosion went viral on social media claiming it to be a recent Ukrainian attack on the Russian oil fields. Sharing the video, a user wrote, “Ukrainian drones, manufactured in the United States, have successfully struck Russia’s largest energy infrastructure and oil fields, reportedly leaving Russian energy firms in a state of crisis with diminishing options or outright collapse.”
Instagram Link | Archived Link.
However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was misleading. The viral video is old. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by taking screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to the official Instagram handle of Siasat Daily, where a similar video was uploaded on August 3, 2025.
The caption of the post read, “Ukraine has claimed responsibility for a drone strike that caused a major explosion at an oil refinery in Novokuybyshevsk, located about 1,000km inside Russian territory.
According to Ukraine’s military, the attack was part of a broader operation targeting multiple sites across Russia, including refineries, an airfield, and an electronics facility. Video footage shared online shows a large blast at the oil facility.”
Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search that led us to a report on the official YouTube channel of The Economic Times on 2 August 2025 that contained the viral video.
The description of the video read, “Ukraine’s military said on Saturday that it had struck oil facilities inside Russia, including a major refinery as well as a military airfield for drones and an electronics factory. In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said they had hit the oil refinery in Ryazan, about 180 km (110 miles) southeast of Moscow, causing a fire on its premises. Also hit, the USF said, was the Annanefteprodukt oil storage facility in the Voronezh region that borders on northeastern Ukraine. The statement did not specify how the facilities were hit, but the USF specialises in drone warfare, including long-range strikes. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the reported attacks on its infrastructure sites. Separately, Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency said its drones had hit Russia’s Primorsko-Akhtarsk military airfield, which has been used to launch waves of long-range drones at targets in Ukraine. The SBU said it also hit a factory in Penza that it said supplies Russia’s military-industrial complex with electronics.”
Further search led us to reports showing recent Ukrainian attacks on Russia. Please click here and here.
This makes it clear that the viral video is old.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The viral video doesn’t show a recent Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian oil fields. This is an old video of a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian oil fields.
Title:Old Video Going Viral As A Recent Ukrainian Drone Attack On The Russian Oil Fields.
Fact Check By: Debanjana BaishyaResult: Misleading
