Key Point and Summary – Ukraine has successfully struck Russia’s Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery with drones for the second time in a month, forcing the Rosneft facility to halt operations.
-The attack, part of Kyiv’s escalating campaign targeting energy infrastructure deep inside Russia, shut down units capable of processing nearly 19,000 metric tons of crude daily.
Su-34 Fullback from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-This strategy aims to cripple Russia’s domestic fuel supply and war economy, even as Moscow continues its own relentless drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
-The strike underscores Ukraine’s growing long-range capabilities amid Russia’s costly but slow battlefield advances.
Ukraine War Is Now the Oil and Gas War of 2025
Russia’s Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in the Samara region has been forced to halt operations following a reported Ukrainian drone strike.
The incident marks the second attack on the site in less than a month, as escalation in Kyiv continues to target Moscow’s energy infrastructure deep within Russian territory.
Reuters reports that the refinery in Russia’s southwest, run by state-controlled firm Rosneft PJSC, paused its main crude processing units this past Sunday.
One unit, the CDU-11, has a whopping daily processing capacity of almost 19,000 metric tons of crude oil .
The facility, which handled 5.74 million tons of crude oil in 2024, plays a key role in supplying Russia’s domestic fuel market, producing over a million tons of gasoline annually.
Industry sources told Reuters the refinery could resume limited operations by early November, though previous drone attacks have caused similar prolonged shutdowns.
The attack comes amid a broader surge in Ukrainian drone operations across Russia’s western regions.
Overnight on Monday, Ukraine allegedly launched drones at Bryansk and Rostov.
The Rostov Oblast Governor claimed two people had been injured as a result of debris in a residential area. He also said thousands of Myasnikovsky residents suffered power cuts after Kyiv’s attack took out a transformer substation.
The attack comes as Russia continues to barrage Ukraine with drones and missiles indiscriminately. Kyiv said it neutralized over half of the almost 100 drones launched at it on Sunday.
Ukraine also announced that last week, a trio of civilians had been killed and nine others injured by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has lost over 1.13 million men since it launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s General Staff says.
While their figures are unverified, many less generous estimates suggest that Russia is expending vast numbers of men and arms in return for minuscule battlefield gains.
Indeed, Moscow has not managed to occupy any key Ukrainian settlements since 2022. Fresh analysis from The Economist also claims that an estimated five Russian soldiers are now being killed for every Ukrainian.
Winter is once again on the horizon, and neither side seems geared toward peace. Ukraine is aiming to cripple Russia’s fuel output, and Russia is keen to plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness.
Kyiv continues to press Washington into providing it with long-range missiles, which it claims will allow it to threaten sites deep inside Russia better better, and therefore pressure it into a palatable peace.
If anything is clear, it is that as long as this bloody war grinds on, so will the targeting of crucial energy infrastructure.
About the Author: Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education. You can follow her on X: @llggeorgia.
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