ANOTHER RUSSIAN REFINERY BURNS AS STRIKES REACH UFA
A fire broke out in Ufa, Bashkortostan, following an overnight drone attack, with monitoring channels identifying the site as the Bashneft-Novoil oil refinery. The facility lies approximately 1,400 kilometres—870 miles—from Ukraine, illustrating the reach of Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign.
An OSINT analyst working with Russian outlet ASTRA assessed eyewitness photographs and identified the likely burning equipment as the L-35 catalytic reforming unit. That identification remains preliminary, but the unit’s role explains why this could be a consequential hit: it produces high-octane components for petrol and hydrogen used to remove impurities from fuel.
Bashneft-Novoil belongs to Bashneft, part of Russia’s state-controlled Rosneft group. Its annual refining capacity is approximately seven million tonnes of crude oil, producing petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and lubricants. Together with two neighbouring refineries, it forms the Ufa refining complex, with a combined capacity of around 23.5 million tonnes a year.
If substantial damage to the reforming unit is confirmed, it could constrain petrol production and affect other fuel-treatment processes. The extent of the damage and any resulting shutdown have not yet been established.
Following the fire at Novokuybyshevsk, this latest reported strike adds pressure on the refining infrastructure that supplies Russia’s economy and sustains its war effort.
Repeated attacks can force repairs, interrupt production and stretch air defences across facilities far beyond the battlefield.