diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchRefReplicatedEvent.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchRefReplicatedEvent.java
index 0eabf42..2c18983 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchRefReplicatedEvent.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/FetchRefReplicatedEvent.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull;
 
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.events.RemoteRefReplicationEvent;
 import java.util.Objects;
@@ -74,4 +75,9 @@
   public String getRefName() {
     return ref;
   }
+
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  public RefUpdate.Result getRefUpdateResult() {
+    return refUpdateResult;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommand.java
index 3150fe1..3a7d0ff 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommand.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationState;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Source;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.SourcesCollection;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception.DeleteRefException;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.fetch.RefUpdateState;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@
       try {
 
         Context.setLocalEvent(true);
-        deleteRef(name, ref.get());
+        RefUpdate.Result successResult = ensureSuccess(deleteRef(name, ref.get()));
 
         eventDispatcher
             .get()
@@ -108,13 +109,17 @@
                     refName,
                     sourceUri,
                     ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
-                    RefUpdate.Result.FORCED));
+                    successResult));
       } catch (PermissionBackendException e) {
         logger.atSevere().withCause(e).log(
             "Unexpected error while trying to delete ref '%s' on project %s and notifying it",
             refName, name);
         throw RestApiException.wrap(e.getMessage(), e);
       } catch (IOException e) {
+        RefUpdate.Result refUpdateResult =
+            e instanceof DeleteRefException
+                ? ((DeleteRefException) e).getResult()
+                : RefUpdate.Result.LOCK_FAILURE;
         eventDispatcher
             .get()
             .postEvent(
@@ -123,7 +128,7 @@
                     refName,
                     sourceUri,
                     ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.FAILED,
-                    RefUpdate.Result.LOCK_FAILURE));
+                    refUpdateResult));
         String message =
             String.format(
                 "RefUpdate lock failure for: sourceLabel=%s, project=%s, refName=%s",
@@ -162,4 +167,19 @@
       return new RefUpdateState(ref.getName(), result);
     }
   }
+
+  private static RefUpdate.Result ensureSuccess(RefUpdateState refUpdateState)
+      throws DeleteRefException {
+    switch (refUpdateState.getResult()) {
+      case NOT_ATTEMPTED:
+      case REJECTED:
+      case REJECTED_CURRENT_BRANCH:
+      case REJECTED_MISSING_OBJECT:
+      case LOCK_FAILURE:
+      case IO_FAILURE:
+      case REJECTED_OTHER_REASON:
+        throw new DeleteRefException("Failed ref deletion", refUpdateState.getResult());
+    }
+    return refUpdateState.getResult();
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/exception/DeleteRefException.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/exception/DeleteRefException.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1d6876
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/exception/DeleteRefException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2024 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api.exception;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefUpdate;
+
+public class DeleteRefException extends IOException {
+
+  private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+  private final RefUpdate.Result result;
+
+  public DeleteRefException(String msg, RefUpdate.Result result) {
+    super(msg);
+    this.result = result;
+  }
+
+  public RefUpdate.Result getResult() {
+    return result;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommandTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommandTest.java
index 40912ac..5ede40b 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommandTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/replication/pull/api/DeleteRefCommandTest.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.api;
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static com.google.gerrit.testing.GerritJUnit.assertThrows;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.any;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.anyString;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
@@ -36,9 +37,11 @@
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchRefReplicatedEvent;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.LocalGitRepositoryManagerProvider;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.PullReplicationStateLogger;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationState;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Source;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.SourcesCollection;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.fetch.ApplyObject;
+import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Ref;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefUpdate;
@@ -108,12 +111,7 @@
 
     objectUnderTest.deleteRef(TEST_PROJECT_NAME, TEST_REF_NAME, TEST_SOURCE_LABEL);
 
-    verify(eventDispatcher).postEvent(eventCaptor.capture());
-    Event sentEvent = eventCaptor.getValue();
-    assertThat(sentEvent).isInstanceOf(FetchRefReplicatedEvent.class);
-    FetchRefReplicatedEvent fetchEvent = (FetchRefReplicatedEvent) sentEvent;
-    assertThat(fetchEvent.getProjectNameKey()).isEqualTo(TEST_PROJECT_NAME);
-    assertThat(fetchEvent.getRefName()).isEqualTo(TEST_REF_NAME);
+    assertFetchReplicatedEvent(ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED, Result.FORCED);
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -133,4 +131,28 @@
 
     verify(eventDispatcher, never()).postEvent(any());
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldThrowWhenRefDeletionFails() throws Exception {
+    when(source.isMirror()).thenReturn(true);
+    when(refUpdate.delete()).thenReturn(Result.LOCK_FAILURE);
+
+    assertThrows(
+        IOException.class,
+        () -> objectUnderTest.deleteRef(TEST_PROJECT_NAME, TEST_REF_NAME, TEST_SOURCE_LABEL));
+
+    assertFetchReplicatedEvent(ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.FAILED, Result.LOCK_FAILURE);
+  }
+
+  private void assertFetchReplicatedEvent(
+      ReplicationState.RefFetchResult refFetchResult, RefUpdate.Result result) throws Exception {
+    verify(eventDispatcher).postEvent(eventCaptor.capture());
+    Event sentEvent = eventCaptor.getValue();
+    assertThat(sentEvent).isInstanceOf(FetchRefReplicatedEvent.class);
+    FetchRefReplicatedEvent fetchEvent = (FetchRefReplicatedEvent) sentEvent;
+    assertThat(fetchEvent.getProjectNameKey()).isEqualTo(TEST_PROJECT_NAME);
+    assertThat(fetchEvent.getRefName()).isEqualTo(TEST_REF_NAME);
+    assertThat(fetchEvent.getStatus()).isEqualTo(refFetchResult.toString());
+    assertThat(fetchEvent.getRefUpdateResult()).isEqualTo(result);
+  }
 }