KYIV, 23 Sept. - (ANA) - Ukrainian forces have launched a huge attack on Russia overnight. Dramatic video footage shows huge plumes of black smoke billowing from the Kuibyshev oil refinery in the Russian city of Samara after it was hit by a drone attack.

 

Posting on X, former Ukrainian government official Anton Geraschenko shared a footage of the blaze, commenting: "The Kuibyshev oil refinery in Russia's Samara region is on fire following a drone attack.

 

"The refinery has a design capacity of around 7 million tonnes of oil per year.

 

"Explosions were also reported in Tolyatti."

 

The refinery lies along the Volga River, around 765 kilometres (475 miles) from the Ukrainian border, highlighting the increasing reach of Kyiv's long-range drone campaign against targets deep inside Russia.

 

The Kuibyshev plant can process up to 10,000 metric tonnes of oil a day, or around 73,000 barrels.

 

The refinery processes around 3.7 million tonnes of oil a year and supplies fuel products used by Russia's military-industrial sector and armed forces.

 

Footage collected by Ukrainian monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+ reportedly showed a huge fireball lighting up the sky when the facility was struck, followed by thick smoke and fires at the plant.

 

An analysis by Russian opposition news outlet ASTRA appeared to confirm that Ukrainian drones had hit the refinery.

 

It is not the first time the strategically important facility has been targeted. Ukrainian forces previously struck the Samara plant on June 10, forcing operations there to be suspended.

 

The strikes are part of an increasingly intense Ukrainian campaign against Russia's energy infrastructure, with refineries becoming a key target of Kyiv's long-range attacks.

 

The Kyiv Independent reported that Ukrainian strikes have contributed to fuel shortages across Russia and sharply reduced refinery output during the summer.

 

Half of Russia's six biggest diesel-producing refineries had either cut production or completely halted output in September following Ukrainian drone attacks, according to the report. The Kyiv Independent

 

The latest strike also comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky approved what he described as new long-range operations in response to Russian attacks.

 

Kyiv has increasingly used deep strikes against oil facilities, military infrastructure, logistics hubs and weapons production sites, with Zelensky saying in July that Ukraine was capable of hitting targets more than 3,000 kilometres inside Russia. The Kyiv Independent

 

The attacks have drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump, who called on Kyiv to stop targeting Russian oil refineries, saying the strikes were contributing to a global diesel shortage.

 

However, Mr Zelensky has pointed out that Russia has shown no sign of stopping its own strikes on Ukraine, arguing that Kyiv must continue hitting Russian targets in response. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/23 September 2026 - -