Ukrainian drones strike Russia’s Bashkortostan oil refinery for second time in week

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff reported the information.

"In order to reduce the offensive capabilities of the Russian army and complicate the supply of fuel to the Russian units, Ukraine’s Defense Forces, during the night of September 24, struck the territory of the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery in Bashkortostan. According to preliminary information, the primary oil distillation unit ELOU-AVT-6 was hit. A fire continues at the plant," the General Staff stated.

The Defense Forces also struck important facilities in Russia’s Volgograd region that are used to support the occupying army. Fire engulfed the Kuzmichi-1 oil pumping station, which is part of the crude oil transportation system to the southern regions of Russia.

In addition, the Zenzevatka oil pumping station, which provides oil transportation through the Kuibyshev–Tikhoretsk main pipeline, was hit.

Last night, in order to disrupt the production of unmanned aerial vehicles and reduce the enemy’s combat capabilities, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck a UAV production facility in Valuyki, Belgorod region, Russia.

"An impact and a fire have been recorded. The results and scale of the damage are being clarified," the General Staff specified.

They also confirmed the successful completion of one of the previous missions. On September 22, Ukraine’s long-range assets struck the Astrakhan gas processing plant. Sections of production were damaged, resulting in the shutdown of part of the process.

"This gas processing plant is one of the largest gas chemical complexes in the world and the main producer of sulfur for explosives in Russia, providing up to 66% of Russian production. The annual volume of petroleum product processing at the Astrakhan plant is up to 3.2 million tons," the General Staff added.

Earlier, citing its own sources in the Ukrainian Security Service, Hromadske, Suspilne, and Ukrainska Pravda reported that as a result of several drone strikes on the plant’s territory, a fire broke out and a column of black smoke was recorded in the air.

Several drone strikes caused a fire at the refinery, with thick black smoke rising into the air.

“The SBU continues to deliver precision deep strikes on facilities financing the war against Ukraine. The ‘cotton season’ at Russian refineries is in full swing. The gas-station country must finally realize that its aggression against Ukraine is costing it dearly,” an SBU source told Hromadske.

A Suspilne source also confirmed that multiple SBU drone strikes sparked a fire at the refinery. Local authorities said they are still assessing the extent of the damage.

On the morning of September 24, Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov reported a drone attack on the refinery, noting that all emergency services were on site and taking measures to extinguish the fire.

Salavat city administration head Marat Zagidullin stated that no one was injured or killed in the attack and that all environmental safety indicators in the city remain within normal limits.

Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical plants, producing 150 types of products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, bitumen, and polyethylene.

• On Thursday, September 18, Russia reported a drone attack on the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat company in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The facility is located over 1,300 km from Ukraine.