Drones strike Kuibyshev oil refinery in Russia's Samara region, triggering large fire
In the night of September 22, drones attacked the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, Russia, causing a large-scale fire. The facility, part of Rosneft, had previously suspended operations after earlier drone strikes in 2024 and 2025.
Key points
- Attack occurred overnight on September 22 at the Kuibyshev refinery in the Kuibyshevsky district of Samara.
- A large fire broke out, with videos showing heavy flames and a thick column of smoke over the plant.
- The AVT-5 primary crude oil distillation unit was reported to be burning.
- Local residents reported explosions preceded by the characteristic sound of drones.
- The Kuibyshev refinery is part of Rosneft and has a design capacity of about 7 million tonnes of oil per year.
- Samara region authorities and emergency services did not comment on the strike.
- The attack follows earlier drone strikes on the refinery in March 2024, August 2025 and June 2025, which halted CDU-4 and CDU-5 units.
Why it matters
The Kuibyshev refinery belongs to Rosneft and has a design capacity of about 7 million tonnes of oil a year. The plant has already halted work repeatedly after drone strikes in 2024 and 2025, and the latest attack hit the AVT-5 primary crude unit. The strike comes against the backdrop of Donald Trump's claim that Russia has lost control over its own refining sector and his appeals to halt such strikes.
What happened
In the night of September 22, drones struck the Kuibyshev oil refinery in the Kuibyshevsky district of Samara, Russia's Samara region. Explosions were reported in the area of the plant, preceded by the characteristic sound of drones. A large-scale fire broke out; videos circulated on social media showed heavy flames and a thick column of smoke over the facility. The AVT-5 atmospheric-vacuum distillation unit — a primary crude processing unit — was reported to be on fire. The information was spread by OSINT researchers Exilenova+ and Russian Telegram channels. Authorities of the Samara region and emergency services did not comment on the consequences of the strike.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources emphasize that the refinery's output goes to meeting the needs of Russian occupation forces. The absence of comments from Samara regional authorities and emergency services is presented as a typical feature of such events.
Background
The Kuibyshev refinery is located in the Kuibyshevsky district of Samara. In June 2025, the plant already halted processing after a drone attack that damaged its two main primary processing units — CDU-4 and CDU-5. The Syzran and Novokuibyshevsk refineries, which together with Kuibyshev form the Samara refining hub of Rosneft, are regularly hit.