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Drones Ignite Blaze at Gazprom’s Giant Petrochemical Plant in Bashkortostan
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
A major oil and petrochemical facility in Russia’s Bashkortostan region came under drone attack overnight, Russian outlet ASTRA reported on September 18.
The strike targeted Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, one of Russia’s largest petrochemical plants. Video and photos shared online showed smoke rising over the city of Salavat following explosions.
Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat LLC, Republic of Bashkortostan.
— Exilenova+ (@Exilenova_plus) September 18, 2025
According to our information, the ELOU-AVT-4 installation was initially affected.
53.413109747517, 55.88494717576 pic.twitter.com/McMfvd2Fi7
Bashkortostan governor Radiy Khabirov later confirmed the incident.
“A terrorist attack on Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat. Two fixed-wing drones attacked the enterprise. There were no casualties or injuries. Both passive and active defenses worked, and plant security returned fire. The extent of the damage is being clarified. The fire is being contained, and all emergency services are on site,” Khabirov wrote on Telegram.
Clearly, the Salavat refinery was directly hit. pic.twitter.com/AcVzFGzWTP
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) September 18, 2025
Preliminary reports suggest the strike damaged the ELOU-AVT-4 unit—a key primary oil refining installation.
Such units perform crude distillation, separating raw hydrocarbons into fractions that feed the production of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, bitumen, and petrochemical feedstocks. Damage to an ELOU-AVT unit can significantly disrupt refinery throughput.
Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat—formerly known as Salavatnefteorgsintez—operates one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical complexes.
The facility runs a full hydrocarbon processing cycle and produces around 150 types of products, including fuels, bitumen, polyethylene, ammonia, and other chemical exports. Its products are shipped across Russia and exported to more than 30 countries in Europe, the CIS, and beyond.
According to company data, Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat generated revenues of 246.7 billion rubles (about $3 billion USD) in 2019 and reported net profits of 28.95 billion rubles (roughly $347 million USD). The company employs over 14,000 people.
Earlier, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces carried out a strike against the Saratov Oil Refinery in Russia.
The Saratov refinery is one of Russia’s major oil-processing plants, producing gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, various grades of bitumen, vacuum gas oil, and technical sulfur. In total, the facility manufactures more than 20 types of petroleum products.
