Unknown drones strike oil hub in Tatarstan
On the night of 23 February, unidentified strike drones carried out a successful attack on fuel and energy facilities in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan.
One of the key oil pumping stations — Kaleikino Oil Pumping Station — was hit. After a series of explosions, a large-scale fire broke out on the facility’s premises.
The Kaleikino station is considered strategically important, as it is located in the centre of the region’s oil production area — the city of Almetyevsk. Nearby are major production facilities of Tatneft, which account for a significant share of Russia’s oil exports.
According to eyewitness accounts and reports from local social media channels, a major blaze erupted at the station following the drone strikes, accompanied by thick smoke. Russian emergency services are attempting to contain the fire, but the extent of the damage to technological equipment has not yet been disclosed.
The importance of this facility is difficult to overstate, as the Almetyevsk area is regarded as one of the main starting hubs of the Druzhba pipeline. Through this infrastructure, crude oil from Tatarstan and neighbouring regions feeds into the main pipeline heading west.
The oil flow then passes through Samara region towards Belarus, from where it is transported to countries in Eastern and Central Europe. A successful strike on such a hub could significantly complicate the logistics of supplying Russian energy resources to international markets.
The Russian side traditionally claims that its air defence systems were operating, but footage from the scene appears to confirm a direct hit on the industrial zone.
Earlier, drones attacked an oil depot in the Pskov region in the city of Velikiye Luki. UAVs have also reportedly targeted the Volgograd region.
