Ukrainian drones attacked an industrial facility in southern Russia’s Samara region, authorities said early Monday, as Ukrainian officials claimed the target of the attack was a Rosneft oil refinery.
Samara region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said three drones had been “eliminated” in the city of Novokuibyshevsk, where there were no damages or fires from the attack. “It was a failure,” he wrote on social media.
However, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said its firefighters were battling a blaze that broke out following the incident. Videos shared by the ministry showed crews battling flames and heavy smoke inside a large warehouse.
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Kovalenko said the attack targeted the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery, which has an annual capacity of up to 8.8 million metric tons and plays a “strategic” role in supplying fuel for Russian military operations.
Petro Andryushchenko, a former adviser to the mayor of Mariupol who has since reported regularly on Ukrainian attacks in Russia, said the drone strike took place at around 1:45 a.m. local time. The Novokuibyshevsk refinery, operated by the state-owned oil giant Rostneft, briefly halted operations following Ukrainian drone strikes last March.
Russia’s military said its air defense forces shot down or intercepted three drones over the Samara region and six over the Voronezh, Oryol, Belgorod and Kursk region overnight.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil depots and refineries, aiming to disrupt fuel supplies to the Russian military. Kyiv views these strikes as retaliation for Moscow’s bombardment of Ukrainian cities and its energy grid.
