Drones attacked an oil refinery in Ufa; a fire broke out at the Bashneft facility
During the night and early morning of 2 April, drones attacked oil refineries in the Russian city of Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Local residents reported a series of explosions in the industrial zone, after which a fire broke out at one of the plants. According to the region’s head, Radiy Khabirov, several drones were shot down as they approached the oil refineries, and the wreckage of one fell in the industrial zone.
“UAV attack on Ufa. Several drones were shot down as they approached the oil refineries; debris from one fell in the industrial zone; there are no casualties. Firefighters are currently extinguishing the fire on the factory premises,” he said.
It is also reported that one of the drones struck a residential building. According to preliminary data, there are no fatalities or injuries.
According to monitoring resources and OSINT analysts, the strike may have been carried out in the vicinity of the AVT-5 unit at the Bashneft Novoil plant, which is key to primary oil refining. Following the attack, intense burning and heavy smoke were observed at the site.
The Bashneft Novoil oil refinery is part of the Bashneft company, which is controlled by Rosneft. The facility has a capacity of approximately 7.4 million tonnes of crude oil per year.
Due to the threat of drone attacks, an air danger alert was declared in Bashkortostan, and operations at Ufa Airport were temporarily suspended.
Ufa is one of the largest oil refining centres in Russia. The city’s enterprises produce petrol, diesel and aviation fuel, as well as other petroleum products.
