On the morning of August 13, Ukrainian drones attacked the city of Salavat in Bashkortostan, the republic’s head, Radiy Khabirov, reported.
According to Ukrainian monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova, the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery was targeted. Residents of Salavat also reported a column of black smoke rising above the facility.
The Salavat plant is Gazprom’s largest petrochemical facility. It is capable of processing 7.5 million tonnes of oil per year, accounting for about 2.7% of Russia’s total refining capacity. The refinery produces gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, liquefied gases, butyl alcohols, ammonia, urea and other products.
Ukrainian drones previously attacked the refinery on July 14. According to informed sources cited by Reuters, two primary refining units, AVT-6 and AVT-4, were damaged in the attack, forcing the plant to halt operations.
Since the beginning of August, at least four Russian refineries have stopped processing crude oil following Ukrainian strikes. These include the Orsknefteorgsintez refinery in the Orenburg region, ZapSibNeftekhim in the Tyumen region, as well as refineries in Saratov and Volgograd.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have intensified strikes on Russian oil refineries in 2026. According to an analysis by S&P Global, attacks have disrupted operations at at least 26 facilities, seven of which had still not resumed production by the end of July.
As a result of repeated strikes on refineries, Russian oil processing has fallen to its lowest level since May 2002, reaching 3.6 million barrels per day, according to estimates by EA Analytics. The decline has contributed to a fuel crisis in Russia.
