Drones Strike Bashneft–Novoil Oil Refinery in Ufa, Russia

Ukraine’s Defense Forces used drones to strike the Bashneft–Novoil oil refinery in Ufa, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan.

The strike has been verified through OSINT analysis conducted by Militarnyi, along with videos and photos from the scene circulating online.

It is the third Ukrainian drone strike on oil refineries in Ufa in recent days.

The strike was carried out during the day on August 5 using Liutyi long-range drones, according to available footage. At least two impacts were confirmed.

Following the explosions, two separate fires were observed at the refinery, sending thick columns of black smoke into the air.

According to preliminary information, the drone strike set the refinery’s L-35-11/1000 catalytic reforming unit on fire. The unit is designed to process gasoline fractions through catalytic reforming, producing high-octane components used in automotive gasoline.

The strike also hit the GEXA combined processing unit, which is used for diesel fuel hydration and gasoline catalytic reforming.

Targeted Refinery

Bashneft–Novoil is part of the Russian oil company Bashneft, which has been controlled by Rosneft since 2016.

The oil refinery has an annual processing capacity of approximately 7–7.4 million metric tons of crude oil. It produces gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, lubricants, and other petroleum products. The facility is located about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from Ukraine.

Together with Bashneft–UNPZ and Bashneft–Ufaneftekhim, the refinery forms one of Russia’s largest oil refining hubs, with a combined annual processing capacity of 23.5 million metric tons of crude oil.

Ufa is currently one of Russia’s key oil refining centers, supplying fuel and petroleum products to both the domestic market and Russia’s occupying forces in Ukraine.

On August 2, the Ukrainian Defense Forces targeted the Bashneft–UNPZ refinery; the previous day, they struck the nearby Ufaneftekhim oil refinery.