A drone struck an oil refinery in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan, nearly 1,000 miles from the border with Ukraine, the most far-reaching drone attack on a Russian target in the war so far.
Sources in Ukraine’s Security Service told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda it was behind the attack on Russia’s Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery on Thursday morning.
A video of the drone attacking the plant in Russian Salavat, Bashkiria, appeared on Russian Telegram channels.
The person who is filming says the drone is very large.
It looks like the drone flew about 1,500 km before it reached its target and hit the oiloil catalytic cracking… https://t.co/sZDjo20oH0 pic.twitter.com/3CFKR2rBqn
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 9, 2024
It marked the first drone strike on the republic during Russia’s attempted full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
“According to the source of Ukrainska Pravda, it was a [Security Service] drone that established a record by traveling 1,500 kilometers (930 miles),” the publication reported.
Kyiv has ramped up its attacks on Russian refineries this year, hampering gasoline production in Russia. Olha Stefanishyna, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, said in March that Russian oil refineries were legitimate military targets for Ukraine in the war. The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of trying to carry out terrorist attacks using drones.
In March, Vasyl Malyuk, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service, said the government agency was behind all attacks on Russian oil hubs and that they would continue. The agency has estimated that it has carried out at least 13 successful attacks on Russian oil refineries during the war so far.
Last month, Ukraine’s security service also said it was behind a drone attack on a Russian oil refinery in the republic of Tatarstan, which is located some 800 miles from the border with Ukraine.
Newsweek has contacted Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment by email.
GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images
Radiy Khabirov, the head of Bashkortostan, said on his Telegram channel Thursday that the Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery was operating as usual after the attack.
“A drone attacked the industrial zone of Salavat city at around 13:00 today, after which there was smoke at one of the installations of Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat,” Khabirov said.
There have been no reported casualties in the aftermath of the attack.
A source in Ukraine’s Security Service told Ukrainian news outlet RBC that it has “once again proved that it has powerful technological solutions that help to inflict painful blows on the enemy.”
“This means that Russian refineries and oil depots working for the Russian military-industrial complex cannot feel safe even in the deep rear,” the source added.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.