Ukrainian drones strike Gazprom refinery and Wildberries hub in Russia's Bashkortostan, two civilians wounded

Ukrainian drones struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refining and petrochemical complex in Russia's republic of Bashkortostan overnight Wednesday to Thursday, igniting a fire at the facility and wounding two civilians, according to regional governor Radiy Khabirov and Ukraine's General Staff. A separate fire broke out at a Wildberries logistics hub located in the same Salavat industrial zone.

Khabirov said 16 drones were shot down over the city of Salavat and five more over the nearby Chishminsky district, according to The Moscow Times. The two sites lie approximately 1,200–1,300 kilometres from both Moscow and the Ukrainian border, with the AP reporting the complex is located about 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from Ukraine's border and southeast of Moscow.

Ukraine's General Staff described the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat complex as one of Russia's largest oil refining and petrochemical facilities, stating it processes up to 74 million barrels of oil annually, producing gasoline, diesel fuel and other products, according to the AP. The Moscow Times, citing exiled media outlet Astra, reported the facility accounts for 2.7% of Russia's total refining throughput and had previously halted operations after being damaged in an attack the prior month.

Khabirov said on Telegram that falling debris sparked a fire in an 'industrial area' and that a Ka-32 firefighting helicopter was deployed to assist ground crews in the Chishminsky district where the Wildberries logistics hub is located, according to The Moscow Times. Wildberries, described by both sources as Russia's largest online retailer, confirmed a fire at one of its facilities in the Salavat industrial zone, noting staff had been evacuated in advance and that no retail merchandise was stored there. According to The Moscow Times, citing Astra, construction of the Wildberries complex — totalling 186,800 square metres — was not yet complete.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defense systems intercepted 362 Ukrainian drones across 18 Russian regions and annexed Crimea between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, according to The Moscow Times. The barrage caused temporary flight suspensions and restrictions at regional airports in Ufa, Kazan, Samara and Krasnodar, The Moscow Times reported.

According to the AP, the Bashkortostan strike was the fourth drone attack on Russian refining infrastructure in three days. A separate refinery in Orsk, in Russia's Orenburg region near the Kazakhstan border, struck by Ukrainian drones earlier in the week, has suspended operations, with Orenburg governor Yevgeny Solntsev saying repairs could take up to six months due to damage to foreign equipment and international sanctions limiting replacement parts — an acknowledgement the AP described as rare from a Russian official.

The AP reported that Russia responded overnight with a barrage of 133 long-range strike drones that killed at least four people and wounded eight across Ukraine. A Shahed drone struck a passenger train in the southern Odesa region, killing the engineer and his assistant, according to state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia. Two men were also killed Wednesday evening in the southern city of Kherson, the regional military administration chief said.

Ukraine's General Staff said the strikes on Russian energy infrastructure are intended to pressure President Vladimir Putin toward a peace settlement, according to the AP, which noted there is no sign the strategy is having that effect.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a CNN interview that Ukraine has received two and a half times fewer Patriot interceptor missiles so far this year compared with 2025, and that he is seeking to purchase 5% of US stockpiles to help Ukraine through the coming winter, when Russian strikes tend to focus on the power grid, according to the AP. He said he has so far obtained only 1% of that request.

European countries paid at least 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) to US defense companies in the first half of the year for military equipment sent to Ukraine, according to a report by Germany's Kiel Institute cited by the AP. Military aid to Ukraine in the first half of 2026 was close to 2025 levels, but financial and humanitarian aid was 41% lower, the Kiel Institute said.

Where sources differ

• The distance from the Salavat complex to Moscow differs slightly between sources: the AP reports 'southeast of Moscow about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles),' while The Moscow Times reports the city is 'around 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) east of Moscow.' Both sources agree the site is more than 1,300 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
• The AP attributes the identification of the targeted site as the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery to Ukraine's General Staff directly, while The Moscow Times attributes this identification to exiled media outlet Astra, noting that Khabirov himself referred only to an 'industrial area.'

• Neither source independently verified the full extent of damage to the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery or confirmed whether operations were halted following this latest attack.
• The precise nature of the weapon or weapons used in the Bashkortostan strike is not established by either source.
• The operational status of the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery after this attack is not confirmed; The Moscow Times notes it had previously halted after an earlier strike but does not clarify its status immediately before this one.
• Gazprom or Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat did not comment or respond in either source.
• The US government's position on Zelenskyy's request for Patriot interceptors is not addressed in either source.
• The total number of Ukrainian drones launched in the overnight operation is not stated in either source.
• No independent verification of casualty figures or damage assessments from either side is available, as both sources acknowledge.

1. Associated Press — original — by Illia Novikov
2. The Moscow Times — by The Moscow Times

Read the original at Associated Press

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