One person was injured after a suspected Ukrainian drone strike triggered a massive blaze at one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in Ufa in the southern Russian republic of Bashkortostan, 1,000 miles from the border with Ukraine.
One worker at the plant was taken to hospital for injuries to his eyes but was able to return to work after treatment, according to the region’s health authority. Advertisement
Emergency services later gave the all-clear for the surrounding area, saying they had put out the fire and that “no excess of harmful substances has been recorded near the plant.”
Russian social media channels reported explosions at the plant shortly before the fire broke out, but Kyiv, which has carried out numerous strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, has not commented publicly.
Ukraine’s Pravda news agency said a Telegram channel linked to Russian secret services reported the plant had come under attack from drones amid powerful explosions that shook the city.
The drones scored a direct hit on oil storage facilities and main feedstock supply pipelines were also severely damaged.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the blaze started near an incinerator it was “presumably due to technological processes,” as Russia’s state-run TASS News agency said investigators from the ministry and experts from a fire lab were working at the scene. Advertisement
Part-government-owned Bashneft, which runs three refineries in and around Ufa, claimed the blaze and the aftermath posed no risk to the local population or the environment and that production had not been affected.
The company mainly processes crude oil from fields in Bashkiria and western Siberia with the capacity to turn out 168,000 barrels of oil a day.
Also Monday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced a deadly Russian missile strike on a staging ground in the village of Cherkaske near the eastern city of Dnipro on Saturday, killing and injuring an unconfirmed number of soldiers.
The attack with a mobile-launched Iskander-M short-range “quasi” ballistic missile came after a surveillance drone was spotted in the vicinity.
Ground Forces of Ukraine Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi said bureaucracy, incompetence and outdated procedures were to blame and pledged there would be no cover up of the true extent of the casualties or how the tragedy occurred.
“The war requires quick decisions, responsibility, and new safety standards; otherwise, we will lose more than we have,” he said in a post on social media.
“Everyone who made decisions that day, and everyone who did not make them on time, will be held accountable. No one will hide behind explanations or formal reports,” said Drapatyi. Advertisement
