Ukrainian armed forces used suicide drones to target Russia’s Novokuznetsk oil refinery in Samara province, causing massive explosions and widespread fires.
The refinery, one of Russia’s major oil refining facilities with an annual design capacity of about 8.8 million tons, has been attacked for the third time since the beginning of this year, temporarily halting fuel production.
According to a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the attack is part of a broader campaign against Russian energy infrastructure that began in August 2025 and has so far targeted 16 of the country’s 38 main refineries.
Videos posted on social media show the moment the drones collided, causing a massive explosion, sending plumes of flame and thick smoke into the sky and destroying parts of the crude oil distillation unit. (ELOU-AVT-4)
