Photo: Social media
The Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region caught fire following a reported drone attack, according to OSINT analysts from ASTRA citing eyewitness footage shared on social media.
Videos circulating online showed thick black smoke rising above the industrial site. At around 4:30 a.m., Samara region governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced the introduction of the “Kover” emergency aviation regime, temporarily closing regional airspace at all altitudes.
The Rosneft-owned Syzran refinery is considered one of the oldest and most strategically important oil-processing facilities in Russia. The plant is capable of processing between 7 and 8.9 million tons of oil annually.
The refinery mainly processes crude oil from Western Siberia and fields operated by Samaraneftegaz. Its core facilities include the AVT-5 and AVT-6 processing units, while its primary products are Euro-5 standard gasoline and diesel fuel.
The plant plays a key role in supplying fuel to Russia’s Volga region and central areas, and also reportedly provides fuel for the Russian military and defense industry enterprises.
The strike comes a day after another reported drone attack targeted the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Local authorities there temporarily switched schools to remote learning and advised parents not to send children to kindergartens.
According to reports, repeated Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted operations at several major Russian oil refineries, with the combined affected refining capacity exceeding 83 million tons per year.
