Ukraine targeted the Salavat petrochemical complex in Russia’s Ural region and the Afipsky refinery in a new round of attacks intended to weaken Moscow’s energy infrastructure and war-making capacity.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Ukrainian forces launched overnight drone attacks against two major Russian energy facilities, striking a sprawling Gazprom-owned petrochemical complex in the Ural region and a refinery in southern Russia as Kyiv intensified its campaign against infrastructure supporting Moscow’s war effort.
Ukraine’s military said it carried out attacks on the Neftekhim Salavat complex and the Afipsky refinery. The two facilities sit in different regions of Russia but form part of the country’s extensive network for processing oil and manufacturing petroleum products.
The Salavat complex sustained damage to infrastructure carrying utility supplies and electricity, according to Bashkortostan regional Gov. Radiy Khabirov. He said the facility’s most important production installations remained intact and predicted that normal operations could resume within several days.
“Key facilities remain undamaged. There is some damage to the utility racks that carry supply lines and electrical cables,” Khabirov wrote on Telegram.
Crews were expected to work continuously to repair the affected infrastructure and restore the plant’s full operating capacity.
“Restoration work will proceed around the clock,” Khabirov said. “I expect the facility to return to normal operating capacity within several days. This is extremely important.”
The extent of the damage at the Afipsky refinery was not detailed in the information provided.
Ukraine described both strikes as part of an expanding effort to damage Russian energy assets and reduce the resources available to sustain Moscow’s military campaign.
Oil refineries and petrochemical plants generate fuel for civilian and military use while also supporting Russian industrial production and export revenue. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted those facilities with long-range drones, seeking to force temporary shutdowns, disrupt fuel supplies and impose repair costs far from the front lines.
The Salavat complex has been attacked by Ukrainian drones several times during the past year. Its location in the Urals makes the site particularly significant because it demonstrates Ukraine’s ability to strike major industrial facilities deep inside Russian territory.
Owned by Gazprom, the complex produces a wide range of fuels, chemicals and industrial materials. Its output includes gasoline, diesel, kerosene, fuel oil and liquefied gases.
The plant also manufactures butyl alcohols, polyethylene, polystyrene and ammonia, making it more than a conventional oil refinery. Its operations support transportation, energy, agriculture, manufacturing and other sectors of the Russian economy.
Industry sources said the facility processed 7.2 million tons of oil in 2024, accounting for approximately 2.7% of Russia’s total refining activity.
That year, the complex produced about 2.5 million tons of diesel, 1.5 million tons of gasoline and 700,000 tons of fuel oil.
Those production figures establish Salavat as a major component of Russia’s refining system, even though Khabirov said the latest attack did not damage its principal installations.
Damage to utility racks can still interfere with operations because those structures carry the electrical cables and supply lines needed to keep interconnected processing units functioning. The governor’s projected recovery period of several days indicated that regional officials expect the disruption to be temporary.
Ukraine’s simultaneous attack on the Afipsky refinery broadened the geographic reach of the overnight operation. The refinery is located in southern Russia, placing it closer to Ukraine than the Salavat facility but within another strategically important refining corridor.
The coordinated strikes reflect Kyiv’s continuing emphasis on Russian energy infrastructure as a military and economic target. Rather than concentrating solely on battlefield positions, Ukraine has used drones to reach refineries, fuel depots and petrochemical facilities across multiple Russian regions.
Moscow has continued to repair damaged plants and restore production after previous attacks, while Ukraine has returned to some of the same sites repeatedly.
The latest operation again placed the Gazprom-owned Salavat complex under attack, but Russian officials maintained that its essential production facilities survived and that repairs would proceed without interruption until normal output was restored.
Original article
Comments