Ukraine's General Staff said its defense forces struck two Russian oil refining facilities — the Kuibyshev refinery in Samara and the Bashneft plant in Ufa. The Kuibyshev refinery belongs to Rosneft and has a nominal capacity of 7 million tons of oil a year. In 2024 it processed 4.7 million tons of feedstock and produced 0.8 million tons of gasoline, 1.4 million tons of diesel and 1.3 million tons of fuel oil. The plant was already hit by drones in June, after which, according to Reuters industry sources, it temporarily halted refining.
In Samara, the Ukrainian channels Exilenova+ and Supernova reported a fire at the Kuibyshev refinery. According to Supernova, a tank struck on the night of September 22 is burning. No cause for the fire was given. Samara region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev did not comment on the attack — in comments on his VKontakte page, a female subscriber wrote of a "rumble" and a fire at the Kuibyshev refinery. According to her, there were no alarm sirens or other warnings.
In Bashkortostan's capital, The Moscow Times reported, a drone danger alert was introduced overnight. Regional head Radiy Khabirov told a government meeting that 20 drones were shot down over the region; he did not report any damage. According to the regional Telegram channel Aspekty, at least three drones were downed over Ufa.
According to the Ukrainian monitoring resource Supernova, a fire broke out near one of Bashneft's oil plants in northern Ufa after the drone attack. Footage from witnesses showed a column of smoke rising over the industrial site. The blaze was also recorded by NASA satellites, Krymsky Veter reported. Astra wrote that the source of the smoke could be either the refinery or a local thermal power plant.
The Ufa refining complex comprises the Bashneft-Novoil, Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim and Bashneft-UNPZ refineries, with a combined capacity of 23.5 million tons a year. Since the start of the full-scale war it has repeatedly been a target of Ukrainian strikes, Deutsche Welle reported. The previous attack on Ufa's industrial zone was on the morning of September 21.
Russia's Defense Ministry said air defense and electronic warfare forces intercepted 514 fixed-wing drones over 18 Russian regions, as well as over Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. Since the start of 2026, Ukrainian forces have struck Russian refineries more than 70 times, Deutsche Welle reported. According to EA Analytics, disruptions at the plants drove Russian refining volumes to their lowest level since 2002, after which the authorities imposed a ban on fuel exports.
Accounts differ: Ukraine's General Staff said the Kuibyshev refinery and the Bashneft plant in Ufa were hit, while Russian officials — Khabirov and Fedorishchev — did not comment on the strikes, reporting only downed drones (20 over Bashkortostan) or not mentioning any damage. Astra noted that the source of the smoke in Ufa could be either the refinery or a thermal power plant; Ukrainian monitoring channels named the plant. The cause of the fire in Samara was also not given.