On the night of July 14, Ukrainian forces used drones to attack oil refining facilities in Salavat, Bashkortostan, and in the settlement of Afipsky in Russia’s Krasnodar region.
In Salavat, the reported target was Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, one of Russia’s largest oil refining complexes. Astra, which geolocated photos and videos from eyewitnesses, said a fire broke out at the plant. According to preliminary reports, the Rosneft-Opt oil depot in the city also caught fire.
“There are several sources of smoke.”
This is how Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov described the drone attack on the republic in his Telegram channel. He added that, according to available information, no people were injured.
In the Krasnodar region, regional authorities said the attack caused a fire at the Afipsky oil refinery. The regional operational headquarters also reported falling debris at 16 addresses in Afipsky, the stanitsa of Smolenskaya, and the farmstead of Kovalenko. Roofs and facades of several residential buildings were damaged, and one person was injured.
Amid repeated drone strikes, Russian oil refineries have been forced to scale back or fully suspend operations. According to Bloomberg, oil refining in Russia fell in June to its lowest level in 21 years.