- A Ukrainian drone attack targeted Bashneft’s oil complex in Ufa, Bashkortostan, sparking a fire that has since been extinguished.
- Russian officials confirmed refinery operations remain unaffected, though a primary oil refining unit may have sustained damage.
- The Bashneft facilities in Ufa process about 23.5 million tons of oil annually, making them a key target in Ukraine’s strategy to disrupt Russian energy infrastructure.
A drone strike on Bashneft’s oil complex in Ufa, Bashkortostan, has reportedly not disrupted operations, say Russian officials. The attack, conducted by Ukrainian military intelligence, struck on Saturday and ignited a fire at the facility. Radiy Khabirov, head of the Bashkortostan region, confirmed that the fire has now been extinguished and production continues as usual.
While the refinery is still functioning, preliminary reports suggest that a “vacuum column for primary oil refining” may have been damaged. The Bashneft unit in Ufa includes three refineries — Novoil, Ufimsky, and Ufaneftekhim — with a combined capacity of about 23.5 million tons of oil per year.
Geographically, Ufa lies around 1,200 kilometers east of Moscow, and some 1,400 kilometers northeast of Ukraine’s front lines. Recent Ukrainian operations have increasingly targeted energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, with the aim of undermining Russia’s ability to export crude.