Ukrainian drones strike Druzhba pipeline station that produces export-grade oil – sources

Drones operated by the Special Operations Centre Alpha of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) struck the Samara line production and dispatch station in the settlement of Prosvet in Russia's Samara Oblast on the night of 20-21 April, causing a fire.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in the Security Service of Ukraine; The Moscow Times, an independent Amsterdam-based news outlet

Quote from a source: "Early reports indicate that SSU drones have damaged five storage tanks containing crude oil, each with a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres."

Details: According to the source, the station mixes high- and low-sulphur oil from different fields to produce the Urals export blend, a key Russian crude oil benchmark. The facility is therefore an important component of Russia's oil transport infrastructure.

"Strikes on such key stations directly reduce Russia's ability to prepare export oil shipments and fulfil contractual obligations. This affects the revenues Russia can direct towards the war against Ukraine," the source said.

Meanwhile, The Moscow Times reported that Ukraine had attacked a Druzhba pipeline station in Samara Oblast.

Samara Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev reported an attack on an "industrial facility" but did not specify which site was targeted.

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) temporarily closed the airports of Samara and Ulyanovsk overnight.

According to The Moscow Times, the Samara station belongs to Transneft Druzhba, a subsidiary of the state-run oil pipeline company Transneft that operates the Druzhba oil pipeline.

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