A significant fire has reportedly erupted at an oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region on Friday following a drone attack.
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Russian Telegram channels reported that a blaze broke out at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery after a drone warning and a series of explosions.
Dramatic images and video footage circulating on social media appear to show the scene, with multiple towering columns of black smoke filling the skyline.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Ukraine had suspended strikes on Russian refineries amid pressure from Washington. The pause was expected to last until after the U.S. midterm elections on 3 November.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Ukraine to halt its strikes on Russian refineries, blaming them for contributing to rising global fuel prices as he sought to deflect blame from the U.S. role in Iran. Earlier this month, Trump announced a controversial diesel deal with Moscow in an effort to address fuel prices.
The Novokuybyshevsk Refinery
Ukrainian forces carried out long-range strikes against the Novokuybyshevsk facility in August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced at the time, as Kyiv ramped up attacks on Russia’s energy sector.
“Over the past 24 hours, our forces struck the Novokuybyshevsk refinery – 1,000 kilometers from the front line – depriving the Russian war machine of millions of dollars in export revenues,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post on 22 August, while sharing a clip seemingly showing the aftermath of the strike.
According to Rosneft, the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery can process around 8.8 million tonnes of crude oil per year and is involved in the production of jet fuel. Rosneft has owned the site since 2007.
