A source within Ukraine's security service SBU says to the news agency AFP that the "heart" of the Neftechim Salavat complex in the region of Bashkortostan has been hit in the drone attack.
Russia usually does not confirm such events, but this time the regional representative Radiy Khabirov acknowledges that the refinery has been hit. He states that no personal injuries occurred and that they are now trying to assess how the operations are affected.
Neftechim Salavat is under the state-owned company Gazprom, and is described by The Kyiv Independent as "one of Russia's largest refinery and petrochemical plants".
At the same time, SBU states according to the newspaper that another large refinery, in Volgograd, has been knocked out during the night. The facility is said to account for much of the fuel for the Russian military.
The attacks are the latest in a series of similar operations during the summer, when Ukraine has partially knocked out Russia's refining of fossil fuels. It has led to gasoline shortages, rationing and black market trade in several places in Russia.
