Two Russian oil refineries in the Samara region, one in Syzran and another in Novokuibyshevsky, were targeted in an overnight drone attack early on Saturday, March 16th.
Reports indicate that a fire broke out at the Syzran refinery following a drone strike, scorching an area of approximately 500 square meters.
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Dmitry Azarov, the regional governor, confirmed the incident, stating that the oil processing facility was ablaze, but there were no casualties, as per Interfax.
Azarov further disclosed an attempted drone assault on the Novokuibyshevsky refinery, which, he claims, was thwarted.
However, contrary claims from Baza suggest a fire did occur at the Novokuibyshevsky refinery, albeit swiftly extinguished, with no reported casualties.
"The safety and security of our region's facilities are of utmost priority," the Governor, said, issuing directives to relevant authorities and departments to ensure heightened protection measures.
These attacks mark a continued onslaught against Russian oil enterprises, with more than 15 incidents recorded since the start of the year.
The Ukrainian robot planes aimed mostly at energy infrastructure and in some attack, struck hundreds of kilometres deep into Russia.
One of the most seriously hit targets appeared to be an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, more than 500 km inside Russia, where at least three Ukrainian explosives-toting drones crashed into the major oil-processing facility early on Wednesday morning, setting a major fire and injuring several people, officials said.
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Multiple videos recorded from the ground by Russian social media users showed a drone buzzing over an already-burning refinery at low altitude.
The consequences are dire, with critical infrastructure compromised, oil refining capacity dwindling, and concerns escalating regarding potential fuel shortages in the market.
According to energy and geopolitics expert Tom O'Donnell, Ukrainian allies' oil price cap, in conjunction with Ukrainian drones' physical damage could be a significant hit to Russian revenues.
“First off, although these refineries hit by Ukrainian drones yesterday represent about 12 percent of Russian production, experience shows that they might not each be totally impaired from production. Nevertheless, there are two particularly significant implications for Russia,” O’Donnell said in an exclusive interview with Kyiv Post.
“First, whatever percentage of Russian refined oil products this impairs, the damage will both deprive the war economy of needed export revenues and/or of much-needed fuels to keep the domestic war economy running.”
“Already, Russia had announced it will ban the export of gasoline from March 1 in order to tame prices for consumers in the runup to the presidential elections mid-month. In 2023 about 17 percent of Russian gasoline was exported,” he added.
Wholesale gasoline prices have already surged to a six-month high, prompting the government to impose restrictions on fuel exports.
Bloomberg reports suggest that the raids in March have affected approximately 12% of the country's refining capacity.
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