Novak said the strikes marked a resumption of the campaign after a pause, RBC reported. Video posted on social media showed several columns of smoke rising over the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region, according to The Moscow Times, which reported the fire was visible for several kilometers and smoke covered the sky over Samara, about 20 km from the plant. The refinery, part of Rosneft's Samara group of plants, has a capacity of 8.3 million tonnes a year.
Ukraine's Fire Point defense company confirmed to NV that Ukrainian forces attacked the Novokuibyshevsk refinery with FP-1 drones. The company said multiple hits were recorded on the plant's territory, including damage to a diesel hydrotreating unit. Ukraine has not officially commented on the strikes.
Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Vladimir Putin, said Kyiv "once again disobeyed" Donald Trump's demands to stop strikes on Russian refineries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian side would not raise the issue of refinery strikes at three-way talks in Abu Dhabi.
The attack on the Novokuibyshevsk plant was the first since October 15, when Rosneft's Ryazan refinery was hit by drones, according to The Moscow Times. The next day, Gazprom's Surgut plant was attacked. The Wall Street Journal, citing two military officials in Kyiv, reported that in mid-October Ukrainian forces received an order to pause the refinery strike campaign. The newspaper's sources said the initiative came from Ukraine's Defense Ministry after demands from U.S. negotiators Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Novak also said the government is preparing to extend a ban on diesel exports until the end of January 2027, with separate exceptions for supplies to world markets. Russia plans to export 510,000 tonnes of fuel in October and about 2.15 million tonnes in November.
In early October, the U.S. and Russian leaders concluded a "diesel deal": Moscow will supply diesel to the American and global markets, for which the United States eased sanctions and issued a general license for operations with diesel of Russian origin until April 7, 2027.
Accounts differ: Deputy Prime Minister Novak speaks of "minor damage" at one plant, while Fire Point claims "multiple hits" and damage to the diesel hydrotreating unit at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery. Russian authorities have not reported any injured or dead, while Ekho reported two deaths as a result of the attack on the region.