Drone Strike Reportedly Penetrates Russian Air Defenses, Hits Major Rosneft Refinery in Samara

A major Russian oil refinery in the Samara region came under drone attack overnight, according to Russian outlet Astra, with additional footage of the strike published by the OSINT community Exilenova+ on November 27.

Residents in the city of Novokuybyshevsk, home to one of Rosneft’s largest refineries, reported a series of explosions, flashes in the sky, and visible detonations above the facility.

Video from the scene appears to show Russian air-defense systems firing directly over the city shortly after 2 a.m. local time.

Regional authorities announced an air-raid alert shortly after midnight. The Samara Airport also temporarily suspended all arrivals and departures due to the threat.

Local officials have not yet issued any public statements, and damage assessments remain unknown.

The Novokuybyshevsk refinery is a major asset in Rosneft’s portfolio, with an annual processing capacity of 8.8 million tons of crude—about 176,000 barrels per day. Industry data shows the plant processed 5.74 million tons of crude in 2024, producing 1.10 million tons of gasoline, 1.64 million tons of diesel, and 1.27 million tons of fuel oil.

It is also Russia’s only producer of synthetic ethanol and para-tert-butylphenol (PTBF), making the facility strategically important to the Russian petrochemical sector.

Earlier, drones struck the Ryazan oil refinery—one of Russia’s largest. Located roughly 470 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, the Rosneft-owned refinery processed about 13.1 million tons of crude in 2024—roughly 262,000 barrels per day, or around 5% of Russia’s entire refining output.

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