Residents of Ufa reported loud sounds resembling thunder and smoke over the city in the morning. Footage published online showed smoke in the northern part of the city. No official statements on the cause were provided.
According to Astra, a fire broke out in an industrial zone in northern Ufa following a drone attack. The Telegram channel "Aspects-Bashkortostan" identified the target as the Bashneft-Novoil oil refinery, with a capacity of 7.3 million tonnes per year.
The refinery accounts for about 10% of Russia's high-octane gasoline production and more than 7% of its oils — marine, hydraulic and motor. Together with the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim and Bashneft-UNPZ plants, it forms the Ufa refining complex with a combined capacity of 23.5 million tonnes per year. The industrial zone lies roughly 1,400 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Russia's Defense Ministry said 244 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Bashkortostan and 18 other regions, as well as over the Black Sea. The ministry did not comment on the cause of the fire in the industrial zone.
A drone alert was declared in Bashkortostan, according to Kirill Pervov, head of the republic's state committee for emergency situations. Mobile internet was cut off across the region. Rosaviatsia, the federal air transport agency, imposed restrictions on the arrival and departure of aircraft at Ufa airport and at Bugulma in Tatarstan.
Ukrainian monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+ reported the attack on Ufa. Photographs they published showed smoke.
The petrochemical complex in Ufa, owned by Bashneft, a subsidiary of Rosneft, has been targeted before. According to The Moscow Times, Ukrainian drones struck local refineries on June 25, July 1 and July 8, and at least four times in August. On June 16, Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov said the republic's authorities were working to create up to a hundred "maneuver fire groups" to counter UAVs.