Ukrainian Defense Forces Hit Bashneft-UNPZ, Second Ufa Oil Refinery Targeted in Two Days

On August 2, the Ukrainian Defense Forces, reportedly using Liutyi long-range drones, struck the Bashneft-UNPZ oil refinery in Ufa, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan, more than 1,400 kilometers from the frontline.

Video of the strike was shared by the Exilenova+ community on X.

The footage shows a large fire at the refinery. According to preliminary assessments by open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts, the blaze appears to have erupted either at the ELOU-AVT-6 primary crude oil processing unit or at the G-43-107 catalytic cracking unit.

The ELOU-AVT-6 unit is the refinery’s primary crude oil processing unit, designed for crude desalting and initial atmospheric distillation. It has a processing capacity of more than 6 million metric tons of crude oil per year.

During primary distillation, crude oil is separated into fractions – including naphtha, kerosene, diesel (gas oil), and atmospheric residue (fuel oil). These intermediate streams are then fed to secondary processing units for further conversion into finished petroleum products.

The G-43-107 catalytic cracking unit is a secondary conversion unit that processes vacuum gas oil (VGO) into high-octane gasoline components, liquefied petroleum gases (LPG), and lighter distillate products. Its operation directly determines the oil refinery’s depth of conversion and has a significant impact on motor gasoline output.

Bashneft-UNPZ is the oldest of Ufa’s three oil refineries. The other two are Bashneft-Novoil and Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim. All three are operated by the Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft.

The Ufa refining cluster is one of Russia’s largest oil refining hubs, with a combined crude oil processing capacity of 23.5 million metric tons per year. It supplies fuels and lubricants to both the domestic market and the Russian military.

According to Rosneft’s corporate reporting, as of January 1, 2021, Bashneft-UNPZ had a primary crude oil processing capacity of 6.6 million metric tons per year.

The refinery operates catalytic cracking and catalytic reforming units, gasoline and diesel hydrotreating units, as well as facilities for the production of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), industrial hydrogen, and elemental sulfur.

Its product slate includes more than 40 petroleum products, including motor gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, and liquefied petroleum gases (LPG).

On August 1, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the neighboring Ufaneftekhim oil refinery with drones. The refinery has a crude oil processing capacity of more than 9.5 million metric tons per year. Prior to that, oil refineries in Ufa were targeted in early July, late June, and April 2026.