Drone Attack Halts Rosneft’s Kuibyshev Refinery

Rosneft’s Kuibyshev oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region halted oil processing on Wednesday after a drone attack damaged key units and triggered fires, Reuters reported, citing two industry sources.

According to the sources, processing was stopped at both of the plant’s primary crude distillation units, CDU-4 and CDU-5. Each unit has a capacity of about 10,000 metric tons, or roughly 73,000 barrels, per day.

Rosneft did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The reported shutdown comes as Kyiv has intensified attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent months, targeting refineries, oil depots and logistics facilities linked to Moscow’s war effort. The campaign has aimed to disrupt Russia’s fuel supplies and reduce revenues used to sustain the war.

Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of Russia’s Samara region, said on Telegram that the region came under drone attack in the early hours of Wednesday.

The Kuibyshev refinery is part of Rosneft’s Samara refining hub, which also includes the Novokuibyshevsk and Syzran refineries. Both facilities have also been affected by previous drone strikes.

The Syzran refinery has been offline since May 21 after equipment was damaged in a drone attack and has not yet resumed operations, according to market sources cited by Reuters.

The Novokuibyshevsk refinery halted operations on April 18 following a drone attack and is currently running at reduced throughput.

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Ukraine launched a major long-range drone campaign against Russia, striking St. Petersburg’s oil terminal, the Kronshtadt naval base, and multiple ships in the Azov Sea — timed to embarrass Putin’s high-profile Petersburg security conference. Meanwhile on the ground, Russia gained just 14 square kilometers in May at a cost of roughly 30,000 casualties, a pace that even Russian milbloggers call unsustainable. In Romania, a second stray Russian drone found near Băsești drew no meaningful NATO response.

The Kuibyshev refinery processed 4.7 million tons of crude in 2024, averaging 94,400 barrels per day. It produced 0.8 million tons of gasoline, 1.4 million tons of diesel and 1.3 million tons of fuel oil, according to industry sources.