A fire broke out at the Bashneft oil complex in Ufa, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan, after an attack by long-range drones on Saturday, 13 September.
The regional head, Radiy Khabirov, said “aircraft-type” drones targeted a Bashneft facility, calling it a “terrorist attack”. He reported no casualties and described the damage as limited. Videos posted on local channels appeared to show an object hitting the site followed by a large explosion. Ufa is roughly 1,400 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Khabirov said security personnel fired on one drone, which fell within the plant perimeter and sparked a blaze that was being extinguished. He added that a second drone was brought down shortly afterwards. His statement did not attribute responsibility. Reuters reported that the imagery circulating online had not been independently verified at the time of publication.
Ukrainian outlets, citing intelligence sources, said Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR/DIU) carried out the strike against the Bashneft-Novoil (Novo-Ufa) refinery. Those sources claimed that after the drones’ impact, powerful explosions occurred and a large fire started, with preliminary damage to a vacuum column in the primary oil refining unit.
Airport operations in Ufa were temporarily restricted during the incident. Local authorities introduced flight limitations around 16:30 local time before lifting them at 19:33, according to the airport press service quoted by RBC Ufa.
Local media also reported widespread disruption to mobile internet services in Bashkortostan on Saturday afternoon, with complaints rising as the refinery incident unfolded. Officials did not immediately offer an explanation for the outages.
Russian outlets including Meduza, Lenta and regional media carried Khabirov’s account that at least two drones were involved and that a fire followed the fall of one unmanned aircraft on the site. Russia’s emergency services said there were no reports of injuries.
The Novo-Ufa refinery is part of the wider Bashneft refining complex serving Russia’s domestic and export markets. While the regional governor characterised the damage as minor, Ukrainian claims of equipment damage—if verified—could affect throughput at least temporarily. As of Saturday evening, there was no confirmed assessment of the impact on production, and no timetable for a full technical evaluation had been released.
The strike fits a wider pattern of long-range attacks on Russian energy infrastructure attributed to Ukraine in recent months. On Friday, separate Ukrainian drone operations targeted oil assets in Russia’s northwest, including the port of Primorsk on the Baltic Sea, prompting brief market moves and increased scrutiny of energy security. The Ufa incident underscores both the expanding range of unmanned systems and the vulnerability of refineries and terminals far from the front line.
By early evening on 13 September, the visible fire at the Ufa site had been reported under control, airport restrictions had been lifted, and there were no official reports of casualties. Conflicting accounts remained over the extent of technical damage inside the refinery. Further verification—particularly of claims about the primary distillation unit—will depend satellite or open-source imagery assessments.
Drone Strike Forces Suspension at Russia’s Primorsk Oil Terminal
