War

Ukrainian long-range attack drones targeted the industrial hub of Ufa in Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan overnight into Saturday, hitting the Bashneft-Novoil refinery and potentially a second nearby refining facility within one of Russia’s largest petroleum refining clusters.Residents of Ufa reported hearing the engines of low-flying drones, followed by loud explosions across the city’s northern industrial district, according to the Kyiv Post.An analysis of photographs taken by eyewitnesses, conducted by the open-source intelligence (OSINT) group Astra, confirmed that an aerial strike triggered a major fire at the Bashneft-Novoil refinery.Preliminary visual assessments by OSINT analysts indicate that the blaze specifically engulfed the facility’s L-35 catalytic reforming unit.The L-35 unit is an essential technological component of the refining cycle, responsible for producing high-octane gasoline blending components – reformates – and the hydrogen essential for hydrotreating and desulfurizing motor fuels. Without an operational catalytic reformer, the refinery is technically incapable of yielding modern, high-grade motor fuels.Monitoring group Crimean Wind reported that incoming drones struck two separate industrial enterprises in the northern industrial perimeter. The monitor noted that blazes were detected both at Bashneft-Novoil and at the adjacent “Bashneft-UNPZ” refinery, pointing to a coordinated strike across the multi-plant refining hub.The aerial assault prompted Russian civil aviation authorities to enact emergency airspace closures.Rosaviatsiya suspended all departures and arrivals at Ufa International Airport, while precautionary flight restrictions and ground delays were instituted at regional airports in neighboring Kazan and Samara.