Russia’s Massive 23.5-Million-Ton Ufa Refining Hub Comes Under Ukrainian Drone Attack

Ukrainian drones struck the Bashneft-Ufa Oil Refinery in Ufa, Russia, triggering a fire at one of the facilities in a major refining hub capable of processing 23.5 million metric tons of crude annually, according to Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov on August 19.

Khabirov initially reported the attack in the morning, saying a unit at one of Ufa’s refineries had caught fire after the drone strike.

He said the affected unit had already been undergoing repairs and that firefighters were working at the site while authorities assessed the extent of the damage.

“We repelled an attack on industrial enterprises in Ufa. There were six drones in total; four of them were shot down. One fell in the industrial zone, causing a small fire, which we are now extinguishing,” Khabirov wrote on Telegram.

Russian media outlet Astra later geolocated the fire and concluded that the facility hit was the Bashneft-Ufa Oil Refinery, or Bashneft-UNPZ.

Khabirov said there had been “a small fire” at “one of the oil refineries” and that a drone had “preliminarily hit a unit that is undergoing repairs.” He also said one person was injured in the attack.

Astra’s OSINT analysis additionally found that one drone struck an apartment building at 7 Gazi Zagitova Street, approximately 15 kilometers, or nine miles, from the industrial zone housing the refinery.

Ufa is one of Russia’s key oil-refining centers, supplying fuel and petroleum products to the domestic market as well as Russian forces involved in the war against Ukraine.

The Ufa refining complex consists of three major facilities—Bashneft-UNPZ, Bashneft-Novoil, and Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim—which are located close together in the city’s northern industrial zone and are controlled through Bashneft as part of Russian oil giant Rosneft.

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War in Ukraine

Key Ufa Refineries Hit After Ukrainian Drones Fly 870 Miles Into Russia

Jun 25, 2026 12:05

Together, the three refineries can process about 23.5 million metric tons of crude oil per year, making the cluster one of the largest refining complexes in Russia.

The facilities produce Euro-4 and Euro-5 automotive fuels, aviation kerosene, bitumen, and feedstocks used by the petrochemical industry.

Ukrainian drones have repeatedly targeted the Ufa refining cluster despite the city lying more than 1,400 kilometers, or about 870 miles, from Ukraine.

In mid-June, Khabirov said authorities in Bashkortostan were forming nearly 100 mobile fire groups intended to strengthen defenses against drone attacks.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Armed Forces significantly damaged the Progress Rocket Space Center in Samara, Russia—the country’s only facility that serially assembles Soyuz-2 launch vehicles.

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