A fire was reported at Rosneft’s Novokuibyshevsk refinery in Russia’s Samara Oblast on Oct. 30, but Meduza said authorities had not confirmed the refinery was hit.
Rosneft lists the refinery’s primary distillation capacity at 8.8 million tons a year. That figure does not show its current output or whether the reported fire disrupted operations.
Samara Oblast Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said an attack attributed to Ukraine was being repelled in the region. In a translated post on MAX, he wrote, “Air defense and mobile fire groups are working.” He did not identify the refinery as a target.
Exilenova+ posted video labeled “Novokuybyshevsk refinery”; Rosneft spells the facility Novokuibyshevsk. ASTRA said its analyst located a fire on the refinery grounds using photos submitted by residents. The Kyiv Independent said it could not verify the video or assess the damage.
The Wall Street Journal, citing two military officials familiar with operations, reported that Ukrainian units began an informal pause in refinery strikes early the week before Oct. 30. The newspaper said the pause was expected to continue beyond the U.S. midterm elections and possibly into November.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck the same refinery on Aug. 22, causing a fire, and that damage assessments were continuing. It also said the plant’s products supplied Russia’s armed forces. The Kyiv Independent has described Ukraine’s broader refinery campaign as an effort to limit fuel for Russia’s military and revenue used to finance the invasion. EconoTimes previously covered Zelenskyy’s statement that Ukraine’s energy-strike pause had ended.
