Drones attacked the Novokuybyshevsk Oil Refinery in Russia, causing a fire

On the night of October 30, drones attacked the Russian city of Novokuybyshevsk in the Samara Region. A fire broke out at a local oil refinery following the attack. The facility produces, among other things, jet fuel for the Russian Air Force.

Local residents reported explosions and air defense activity even before the official announcement of the drone attack threat. Russian authorities did not issue a warning until around 6 a.m., when the attack was already underway.

The airport in Samara was closed due to the drone threat.

According to eyewitness accounts, a fire on the plant’s grounds was spreading, and drones continued to be spotted over the city. An OSINT analyst at ASTRA determined from photos taken by local residents that it was the Novokuybyshevsk Oil Refinery that was on fire.

The Novokuybyshevsk Oil Refinery has been part of the Rosneft group of companies since 2007. Its capacity is approximately 8.8 million metric tons of crude oil per year.

The facility produces more than 20 types of petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, bitumen, and jet fuel used by the Russian Air Force.

That same night, drones also attacked other regions of Russia. According to local authorities:

• Moscow: Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported four instances of drones being shot down between 12:45 a.m. and 6:20 a.m. In total, he reported 87 drones that were allegedly heading toward the capital.
• Kaluga Region: The governor reported that 94 drones were shot down during the evening and night.
• Tula Region: Governor Dmitry Milyaev reported that 21 drones had been shot down.

This was reported by the Russian publication ASTRA, the monitoring channel Exilenova+, and statements from local authorities.

The day before, a warehouse complex belonging to the Russian marketplace OZON in Omsk was partially destroyed by fire following an attack by FP-1 drones. The company Fire Point released a satellite image showing the aftermath of the attack. According to the company, the drones traveled more than 2,500 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

On the night of October 18, drones attacked St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The strikes caused fires at oil facilities and the Ozon warehouse, and also damaged the data center of VK, the company that owns the social network “VKontakte.” In addition, an emergency power outage occurred in the region, leaving about 20,000 people without electricity.

In Russia, the online retailer Ozon estimated the damage from the Ukrainian drone attacks at 30.1 billion rubles, or $373.1 million. The attacks affected about a dozen of the company’s warehouses in various regions of the country.