In the early hours of Saturday, 23 March 2024, a fire erupted at the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Russia’s Samara Oblast following reported explosions at the facility.
According to Russian Telegram channels, such as Mash and Astra, local residents reported hearing an explosion at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery, which led to a subsequent fire. Preliminary information suggests that the refinery was targeted by a drone attack, like nearly 15 other oil refineries and oil depots earlier this year. In recent months, several oil refineries and depots across Russia have been targeted, including facilities in Krasnodar Krai, Kaluga Oblast, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Oryol, Kursk, Volgograd, and Saint Petersburg.
Russian Telegram channels reported Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Samara Oblast came under drone attack in the early hours of 23 March.
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— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 23, 2024
The attack comes after the FT publication suggested that the US has allegedly urged Ukraine to halt attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, expressing concerns about the potential impact on global oil prices and the possibility of Russian retaliation. The Financial Times reported that senior officials at Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) and Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR) were warned that the drone strikes could lead to higher oil prices and provoke retaliatory measures from Russia.
Ukrainian officials denied this information, saying that oil refineries on Russian territory are legitimate military targets and disrupting enemy fuel infrastructure is “according to the best NATO standards.” Ukraine will continue its campaign until Russian armed forces withdraw from Ukrainian territories, said Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna.
The governor of the Samara region, Dmitry Azarov, reported “another attempt” to attack the Novokuybyshevsk refinery, saying that “no damage was done to the technological equipment” and at the same time that “the primary oil refining column caught fire as a result.”
On 18 March 2024, Reuters published its analysis suggesting that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia’s oil industry have idled about 7% of its refining capacity in the first quarter.
- On 23 March, a fire broke out at the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Samara Oblast after explosions, likely from a drone strike
- On 17 March, drones struck the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.
- On 16 March, drones hit three oil refineries in Russia’s Samara Oblast.
- On 15 March, suicide drones attacked an oil refinery in Russia’s Kaluga oblast.
- On 13 March, drones hit an oil refinery in Ryazan.
- On 12 March, Ukraine carried out a coordinated drone offensive, hitting and damaging at least two Russian oil assets – a refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and a fuel depot in Oryol.
- On 6 March, an oil depot in Kursk came under drone attack.
- On 14 February, a Kursk oil depot was ablaze after a drone strike.
- On 9 February, kamikaze drones targeted oil facilities in two Russian regions, hitting the Ilsky and Afipsky oil refineries in the Krasnodar region and an oil depot in the Oryol region, causing a severe fire at the Ilsky refinery and damaging a primary processing unit valued.
- On 3 February, residents of Volgograd, Russia, reported two explosions, with the Governor stating that Russian air defense units allegedly intercepted drones targeting an oil refinery.
- A vacuum distillation column at an oil refinery caught fire in Russia’s Tuapse City overnight on 25 January.
- On 18 January, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
- On 31 January, a drone hit an oil refinery in St. Petersburg.
- On 18 January, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
Read more:
- Frontline report: Long-range Ukrainian drones target Russian fuel depots and airfields
- Ukraine denies FT’s report that US requested to halt strikes on Russia’s oil refineries
- Inside Russia’s “Special liberation operation”: how expat rebels raid Putin’s borderlands
- FPV drone tactics reshape conventional trench warfare in Russo-Ukrainian War