Satellite imagery from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) indicates that a fire may have broken out near a major Russian refinery, potentially marking Ukraine's first attack on Russian fuel infrastructure in two weeks.
Imagery from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System over the past 24 hours shows two new thermal anomalies near the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region, which could indicate a fire.
Earlier on Friday, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, the governor of the Samara region, said on Russian social media that the region had come under Ukrainian drone attack.
The refinery is owned by oil giant Rosneft. Media outlets sought comment from the company during non-working hours in Moscow but received no response.
The Ukrainian military has not issued any statement claiming an attack on the Samara region or the refinery, and Bloomberg could not independently verify damage to the facility.
The Novokuibyshevsk refinery has a daily processing capacity of 170,000 barrels and is located about 850 kilometers southeast of Moscow. It has been targeted multiple times by Ukrainian drones.
The plant is part of Rosneft's Samara refinery cluster, which was originally built to supply fuel to the Volga River region and the area around Moscow.
According to publicly available information from both countries' officials, Ukraine paused strikes on Russian refineries starting in mid-October, a halt lasting about two weeks.
At that time, the United States was once again pushing for peace negotiations. Consulting firm Energy Aspects estimated that during this pause, Russian refinery crude processing recovered to its highest level since May.
However, Ukraine continued to carry out long-range drone and missile strikes against Russia, targeting military and industrial facilities, data centers, logistics hubs, chemical plants, and airports.
Russia said its air defense systems intercepted more than 1,200 Ukrainian drones overnight on Thursday, the highest number on record.
Russia has also continued relentless attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, targeting Black Sea ports, energy facilities, bridges, and railways.
On Thursday, a railway station in Dnipro, Ukraine's third-largest city, was hit by a drone attack, killing at least 14 people. Hours later, an attack on Chernihiv killed two teenage girls, and a strike on an apartment building in Kremenchuk killed 3 people.
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