Footage circulating on Russian social media on Saturday suggests that Ukrainian long-range drones have struck the Novo-Ufa oil refinery in the Russian city of Ufa, Bashkortostan, nearly 1400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

The strike on Novo-Ufa marks one of the deepest drone attacks inside Russian territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

According to local Telegram channels, an explosion was recorded at the refinery at around 13:30, allegedly caused by drone impact.

Eyewitness footage appeared to show flames at the site as well as a drone flying over one of Ufa’s neighborhoods.

By evening, the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, confirmed that the Novo-Ufa refinery had been attacked by long-range drones.

Khabirov said security forces shot down a drone that crashed on the refinery grounds, sparking a fire and minor damage but no casualties. Another drone was later downed nearby, with the scale of its impact still under review.

Earlier in the day, Russian media, citing the aviation agency Rosaviatsia, reported that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at Ufa Airport at about 14:20. The reason was not officially disclosed.

The Novo-Ufa refinery, operated by Russian oil company Bashneft, is one of three major oil processing facilities in Ufa. Together, they form a refining hub with an output exceeding 20 million tons annually. Novo-Ufa alone is estimated to have a capacity of 7.5 million tons of crude oil per year.

This is not the first reported drone strike at the complex. In March, Ukrainian drones allegedly struck the nearby Orgsintez plant, part of the same refining cluster, sparking explosions and a large-scale fire.

As of now, Ukrainian authorities have issued no official statement confirming an attack on the Novo-Ufa refinery. 

Ukraine has struck the same Russian fuel facility for the second time in a week. The long-range drone attack targeted the Vtorovo pumping station, a critical node in Russia’s internal fuel infrastructure. Video of the surfaced on Ukrainian Telegram channels on 12 September. It is unclear if the strike took place on the same day or earlier.

Kyiv hits Vtorovo hub again

The video, shared by Telegram channel Supernova+, shows Ukrainian long-range drone Liutyi struck the Vtorovo pumping station, located in Russia’s Vladimir Oblast, for the second time since 7 September.

Ukrainian OSINT project Cyberboroshno analyzed the footage of the impact and concluded that the strike directly affected the overpass infrastructure carrying key operational systems. 

According to Cyberboroshno’s analysis, the drone hit a technical overpass structure at the station, damaging pipeline segments, signal cables, and power lines.

The station is owned by the company Verkhnevolzhsknefteprodukt, a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned pipeline monopoly Transneft. It serves as an intermediate pumping point on the route from Vtorovo to Tuma and then to Ryazan, supporting diesel and aviation fuel transportation.

Vtorovo plays a critical role in maintaining pressure and flow within Russia’s main fuel pipeline network. It contains reserve tanks for operational stock and helps stabilize supply toward the Ryazan oil refinery. The station also oversees the eastern segment of the system, connecting the Upper Volga region with Ryazan.

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First strike on 7 September

The first drone strike occurred on 7 September, when UAVs from Ukraine’s 14th regiment of unmanned systems hit the Vtorovo facility. Satellite imagery reviewed by Dnipro OSINT showed visible damage to two fuel reserve tanks. These tanks were part of the system used to maintain pipeline pressure and flow stability.

Following the 7 September attack, the commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Unmanned Systems, Robert Brovdi (“Madyar”), hinted at its impact.

“Fuel in Moscow is a bit glitchy, they say,” he noted, referencing damage to the Vtorovo pumping station and its link to the Moscow Ring Petroleum Products Pipeline.

Militarnyi reports that a Ukrainian drone strike on 30 August 2025 destroyed two Russian helicopter gunships at the airfield in occupied Crimea’s capital, Simferopol. Satellite imagery published by the AviaVector X account confirmed the destruction of a Mi-8 and a Mi-24 helicopter at the site.

Satellite confirms two helicopters destroyed in occupied Crimea

According to Militarnyi, the drone attack took place at approximately 06:30 on 30 August, when Russian monitoring channels began reporting the movement of drones toward Simferopol. Following the reports, a powerful explosion occurred at the airport, followed by thick black smoke.

AviaVector’s satellite imagery captured on the same day showed two attack helicopters destroyed as a result of the strike. An earlier image from 22 August showed a group of military aircraft stationed close together at the airfield. Specifically, the photo documented five Mi-8 helicopters, three Mi-24s, one An-26, and one Tu-134UBL. Militarnyi notes that all these aircraft were concentrated in a small area.

Initial claims after the explosion suggested that aviation fuel tanks had been hit, but this information was later proven false. The satellite images confirmed that the damage involved airframes, not fuel infrastructure.

Russian Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters among the destroyed aircraft

Mi-8 helicopters are currently in wide use by the Russian Armed Forces and are the main transport helicopter in Russian military service. The exact model of the Mi-8 destroyed in Simferopol is unknown. However, Mi-8 helicopters are used by Russian forces for troop transport, strike missions, air defense tasks, and operations against Ukrainian naval drones.

Prior confirmed case of drone-launched missile strike on Mi-8s

On 31 December 2024, Ukrainian forces destroyed two Mi-8 helicopters using R-73 air-to-air missiles launched from a sea-based drone. This was the first confirmed use of this method to eliminate an airborne target.

A strike at the heart of Russia’s gas empire! Ukrainian forces hit a gas processing complex in Russia’s Ust-Luga, Leningrad Oblast, a strategic facility of the aggressor country in the Baltic region, according to Armiia TV. 

Target and consequences of the strike

“Ukrainian drones struck the gas processing complex of Novatek, the largest liquefied gas producer in Russia. The hit targeted the cryogenic fractionation unit for gas condensate/gas, which is the ‘heart’ of the facility’s technological processes,” the sources say.

This is the second successful attack on the Ust-Luga port in 2025, the first occurring in early January.

Strategic importance of Ust-Luga’s object

“Ust-Luga is Russia’s largest maritime hub in the Baltic. Shadow fleet, sanctioned oil — everything passes through there,” Lieutenant Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, stated. 

Thanks to precise drone strikes, the operation disrupted the work of a key Russian logistics hub supplying liquefied gas and oil to external markets.