Novak did not specify which refineries were hit, saying only that he was citing data from the Energy Ministry and oil refining companies. "We see that the Ukrainian side is not demonstrating movement toward an energy truce," TASS quoted the deputy prime minister as saying.
Kyiv rejected the accusation. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said no attacks on refineries had taken place: "The Russians planted a fake about two refineries allegedly attacked. A data center was attacked, successfully, and something else was attacked, but refineries — no."
The authorities in the regions Novak named did not report any attacks on refineries during the day. Rostov region Governor Yuri Slyusar wrote on his Telegram channel in the morning that more than 160 drones had been destroyed or suppressed over the region, adding that no information about casualties or consequences on the ground had been received.
Saratov region Governor Roman Busargin reported the death of a civilian and damage to residential buildings in the city of Balakovo. He did not report damage to any industrial facility. Balakovo is home to a Sber data center, which the governor did not mention. Busargin also did not report repelling an attack on Saratov, where the region's only refinery is located.
Ryazan region Governor Pavel Malkov said seven drones were shot down over the region overnight. There were no casualties or damage.
Meduza was unable to find reports of any explosions or fires at Russian refineries in either Russian or Ukrainian monitoring channels. Ukrainian monitoring channels claimed the strikes hit the industrial zone of the MZ Balakovo metallurgical plant.
US President Donald Trump said on October 11 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to strike each other's refineries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the announcement news to him, but later said the Ukrainian Armed Forces had received all the relevant orders. Zelensky did not confirm direct agreement to refrain from attacks on refineries.
On October 13, Zelensky said Ukraine had not struck Russian oil refining or the energy sector as a whole for two days after the energy truce was announced.
Accounts diverge: Novak claimed attacks on refineries in the Saratov and Ryazan regions, while the authorities in those regions did not report attacks on the plants, and official Kyiv called the report a fake. The Saratov region governor reported a woman killed and damage to residential buildings in Balakovo without mentioning industrial facilities; Ukrainian monitoring channels claimed the strike hit a metallurgical plant, not a refinery.