Bars Jet-Powered Drones: Ukraine Hits Russian Rubikon Refinery and Warehouse

Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in Novokuybyshevsk in Russia’s Samara region, as well as an oil pumping station and a Rubikon UAV warehouse on the night of November 16. Bars jet-powered drones were used in the attack.

The General Staff of Ukraine reported the news.

“As part of efforts to reduce the enemy’s offensive potential and disrupt fuel and ammunition supplies to Russian units, the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit facilities at the Novokuybyshevsk refinery in the Samara region,” the statement reads.

Local residents on Telegram reported the attack, saying they saw drones flying overhead, heard dozens of explosions, and noticed a glow over the Novokuybyshevsk refinery area.

Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), stated that the 1st separate USF center, together with the Special Operations Forces and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, carried out the strike on the refinery.

This is the sixth attack on the plant and the fifth in 2025. The previous strike took place on the night of October 18-19, 2025. According to Reuters, the facility then halted operations for repairs and was expected to resume work in early November.

Novokuybyshevsk Petrochemical Company (Novokuybyshevskaya Neftekhimicheskaya Kompaniya) is one of the five largest producers of gas processing, petrochemical, and organosynthetic products in Russia and Eastern Europe. In 2024, the Novokuybyshevsk refinery processed 5.74 million tons of crude oil, producing 1.10 million tons of gasoline, 1.64 million tons of diesel fuel, and 1.27 million tons of fuel oil.

In addition, the Rubikon UAV storage site and a fuel and lubricants pumping station in the Russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region were struck.

The General Staff also released a video capturing launches of Ukrainian Bars jet drones, which were likely used in some of the attacks.

Bars

The existence of this type of jet-powered drone was first disclosed in April 2025. Herman Smetanin, then-Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, mentioned it during the Ukrainian Weapons 2024 briefing.

However, little is publicly known about the drone. According to the BBC, the new jet drone is a private development with characteristics similar to another model — the Peklo drone-missile.

A source familiar with the project described the Bars as a “medium-range weapon,” with an estimated range of about 700-800 km.

It is known that in May 2025, Germany agreed to finance the purchase of Ukrainian Bars drone missiles, Lyuty strike drones, and Flamingo interceptor drones. A total of €400 million was to be allocated for the production of “long-range weapons.”