Russian Refinery With 10M-Ton Capacity Burns After 870-Mile Drone Strike

Ukrainian drones reportedly struck the Salavat oil refinery in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, sparking a fire at one of the country’s largest oil refining and petrochemical complexes, according to OSINT community Exilenova+ on July 14.

The community published footage showing thick black smoke rising from the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat facility, located roughly 870 miles from the Ukrainian border. According to Exilenova, the drones struck the AVT-6 oil processing unit at the refinery.

Local residents reported hearing a series of explosions near the plant before smoke began pouring from the industrial zone. The plume was visible from several parts of the city.

The regional governor later claimed Russian forces had repelled a large-scale drone attack, adding that several fires had broken out after debris from intercepted UAVs fell at the site.

Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is one of Russia’s largest integrated oil refining and petrochemical facilities. It produces gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, bitumen, lubricants, polyethylene, ammonia, methanol, and other petrochemical products.

The complex has a designed refining capacity of about 10 million metric tons per year. It processed approximately 6.8 million tons in 2022.

The company’s industrial network includes an oil refinery, a gas chemical plant, and the Monomer production facility. The reported strike adds to Ukraine’s expanding campaign against Russian refineries, fuel depots, and energy infrastructure supporting both the domestic economy and Moscow’s war effort.

Earlier, Ukraine’s military intelligence struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region.

In addition, Ukraine’s Defense Forces attacked an oil depot in the city of Mikhailovsk in Russia’s Stavropol region.

After a series of explosions at the industrial site, flames spread to fuel storage tanks.

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