In brief

• Drones struck the northern industrial zone of Ufa on October 31, and OSINT analysts at ASTRA identified the Bashneft-Novoil refinery as the hit site, with a fire burning there.
• ASTRA's assessment of witness photos suggests the L-35 catalytic reforming unit may be on fire; the unit produces high-octane gasoline components and hydrogen for fuel cleaning.
• The Ufa complex groups Bashneft-UNPZ, Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim and Bashneft-Novoil, owned by Bashneft under Rosneft, with a combined capacity of about 23.5 million tonnes a year.
• Russia's defence ministry said its air defences downed 433 drones overnight, and Ufa airport was closed; local residents' claims of two hit facilities remain unconfirmed.

Fire at Bashneft-Novoil after drone attack

Ukrainian drones attacked the northern industrial zone of Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, early on October 31. According to OSINT analysts at ASTRA, the strike hit the Bashneft-Novoil refinery, and a fire was burning at the site (Украінскія дроны атакавалі НПЗ ва Уфе – Nasza Niwa) (Дрони атакували Уфу за 1400 км від кордону: палає великий НПЗ – UNIAN) (Дрони атакували НПЗ "Башнафта-Новойл" у промисловій зоні на півночі Уфи – Espreso).

An alert in the republic was announced around 3 a.m. local time, and within about an hour local channels reported explosion-like sounds. The regional emergency committee said a drone threat had been declared at about 5:40 local time, and Rosaviatsia later reported that Ufa airport had been closed (В Уфе пылает один из крупнейших российских НПЗ – Charter 97).

According to ASTRA's assessment of witness photos, the fire may involve the L-35 catalytic reforming unit (В Уфі після атаки дронів горить НПЗ: імовірно, уражена ключова установка – ЗМІ – Українська правда) (У РФ горить один із найбільших НПЗ: під ударом могла опинитися одразу низка підприємств – TSN). Such units produce high-octane gasoline components and hydrogen used to clean fuels, so their damage would affect the plant's output of Euro-6 gasoline, diesel and jet fuel (Нефтеперерабатывающий завод загорелся после атаки беспилотников в российской Уфе – Zerkalo). The monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported three separate fire sites across what it said were possibly two plants, but no independent confirmation has been published.

The Ufa refining complex includes Bashneft-UNPZ, Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim and Bashneft-Novoil, all owned by Bashneft, part of Rosneft. Together they have a combined capacity of about 23.5 million tonnes a year.

Context of recent strikes

The attack followed a strike on the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in Samara region the day before. Ukraine's defence forces have increasingly targeted Russian refineries, and Ukrainian media say the attacks have knocked out a significant share of Russian capacity. Russia's defence ministry claimed its air defences downed 433 drones overnight across several regions and the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Charter 97 noted that Ufa had been attacked for a second time that week, and that a Bashkir soda plant in Sterlitamak was hit on Thursday.

The Ukrainian monitoring channel Krymsky Veter named Bashneft-UNPZ as a possible target, while ASTRA's analysis pointed to Bashneft-Novoil. Local residents' claims of two hit facilities remain unconfirmed.

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