MOSCOW — Ukrainian drones struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil-refining and petrochemical complex in Russia's Bashkortostan region, about 1,300 km (810 miles) from Ukraine, Ukrainian military officials said on Thursday.
The Ukrainian General Staff said the overnight strike hit the refinery, while footage published by local and Ukrainian sources showed a fire at the industrial complex. The facility is one of Russia's major oil-processing sites and has an annual processing capacity of about 10 million tonnes, according to Ukrainian officials and industry data.
Russian authorities have not publicly confirmed the extent of damage to the refinery. There were no immediately confirmed reports of casualties linked to the strike.
The attack came as Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes against Russian energy infrastructure, targeting refineries and other facilities that Kyiv says support Moscow's war effort. The Salavat complex was also targeted in an earlier Ukrainian drone strike in July, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine has increasingly demonstrated the ability to strike targets hundreds of kilometres inside Russia, putting pressure on oil-processing infrastructure that supplies domestic fuel and industrial markets.
Separately, Russia's Orsk refinery in the Orenburg region halted processing after a Ukrainian drone attack earlier this week, with the regional governor saying repairs could take months.
The full extent of damage at the Salavat complex and any disruption to its operations remained unclear as of Thursday.
