Oil refinery in Russia's Ufa on fire after drone attack, key unit believed hit – photo, video

Drones attacked the Russian city of Ufa in Bashkortostan on the night of 30-31 October, causing a fire to break out at the Bashneft-Novoil oil refinery, where the catalytic reforming unit is believed to be on fire.

Sources: Astra, a Russian news outlet; monitoring channel Exilenova+

Details: Based on an analysis of eyewitness photographs, an OSINT analyst for Astra suggested that the L-35 catalytic reforming unit was on fire at the Bashneft-Novoil refinery.

The unit is one of the key parts of the oil refining process, used to produce high-octane petrol components and hydrogen required to purify fuel.

The Exilenova+ monitoring channel reported three separate fires on the premises of what are believed to be two refineries in Ufa that have come under attack. There is currently no independent confirmation of this information.

Background:

• The previous day, an oil refinery in Novokuibyshevsk, Russia's Samara Oblast, caught fire following a drone attack.
• Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner threatened during talks with the Ukrainian team to halt the provision of intelligence to Ukraine over strikes on Russian oil refineries.

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