Oil refinery in Russia's Bashkortostan and Wildberries hub reportedly catch fire after drone attack – photos, video

Fires have broken out at the Gazprom Neftohim Salavat oil refinery and a Wildberries hub in Bashkortostan, a Russian region about 1,400 km from Ukraine, following a drone attack. Local authorities have confirmed a fire in Salavat's industrial zone, attributing it to the crash of UAV debris.

Source: Russian Telegram channel Astra; Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+; Radiy Khabirov, Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan

Details: Astra, citing local residents, reported smoke near the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat facility. A drone alert had previously been issued in Bashkortostan.

The Exilenova+ Telegram channel reported that the oil refinery in Salavat has been hit.

Meanwhile, Khabirov said Russian forces in the region are repelling a drone attack and that debris from a UAV has fallen in an industrial area of Salavat.

According to Khabirov, a fire has broken out at the site and emergency services are working there.

Following an OSINT analysis, Astra confirmed that it is the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery that has caught fire.

According to eyewitnesses, the first explosions were heard at around 09:10 local time. They also reported that air defence systems were responding and sirens were sounding.

Update: Exilenova+ has also reported a fire at a large warehouse and distribution complex belonging to Wildberries in the Chishminsky district in Bashkortostan. Wildberries is Russia's largest online retailer.

According to the Telegram channel, the facility is used for the storage, sorting and subsequent distribution of dual-use goods. A fire has broken out at the hub following the attack.

For reference: Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is one of Russia's largest oil refining complexes. The facility processes around 10 million tonnes of oil annually.

According to Astra, the refinery processed around 7.2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2024, accounting for approximately 2.7% of Russia's total crude oil refining volume.

The refinery had previously been subjected to drone attacks. Following a strike on 14 July, the refinery temporarily suspended operations.

In September 2025, Ukrainian drones attacked the plant twice, on 18 and 24 September. Following the 24 September attack, the ELOU-AVT-6 primary oil refining unit was damaged, according to ASTRA.

Background: Ukraine's General Staff reported that on the night of 10-11 August, the defence forces had struck the Orsknefteorgsintez oil refinery in Russia's Orenburg Oblast.

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