Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced a drone alert in the Samara region at around 1 a.m. Moscow time in his channel on MAX.
He later said "dozens of drones" were shot down over the region. Civilian sites, including private homes and cars, were damaged, he said. Fedorishchev gave no information on casualties, noting an existing ban on publishing photos and video of the aftermath of strikes.
Astra identified the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara as the target of the attack, based on footage from witnesses. A large fire broke out at the plant after the strike. The refinery is owned by Rosneft and is considered one of the largest in the region.
The refinery has a nominal capacity of 7 million tonnes of oil a year. In 2024 it processed 4.7 million tonnes of crude oil and produced 0.8 million tonnes of gasoline, 1.4 million tonnes of diesel and 1.3 million tonnes of fuel oil.
The Kuibyshev refinery was already attacked by drones in June this year. According to Reuters industry sources, the plant suspended refining at that time.
Since the start of 2026, Ukrainian forces have struck Russian refineries more than 70 times and disabled several dozen of them. In August alone, six large plants were halted for repairs. According to EA Analytics, the interruption of refinery operations pushed Russian oil refining to its lowest level since 2002, leading to fuel shortages in the country and a ban on its export.
US President Donald Trump said the constant Ukrainian attacks had disabled a significant part of Russia's refineries, causing Russia to "lose control" over diesel production. The White House head called for an end to the war in Ukraine, stressing that the whole world suffers from the consequences of Russian aggression. Trump had earlier repeatedly urged Volodymyr Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian oil plants. Zelensky, in turn, said Kyiv is ready for de-escalation, but a halt to strikes on Russian refineries must be accompanied by an end to Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy and critical infrastructure.