Drones attack Kuybyshev refinery in Russia’s Samara region – media

Russia’s Kuybyshev refinery went ablaze in Samara region in what is reported as a UAV strike in the early hours of Saturday.

That’s according to Russian media and Telegram channels.

Witnesses on the ground reported sounds of incoming drones before the explosions rang out at the facility.

Russian officials have not yet commented on the incident.

Ukraine previously targeted the Kuybyshev oil refinery, owned by the state-run Rosneft Corporation, on March 16 when no major damage was reported.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov, who spoke at the Kyiv Security Forum on Friday, said Ukraine will not be asking partners for permission to attack legitimate targets on Russian soil. The comment came as a response to the Financial Times report, citing sources, that the U.S. allegedly asked Ukraine’s security agencies to cease strikes on Russian refineries over fears that the damage incurred could cause a global fuel price hike.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak dismissed the report, stating that no such calls were received from the U.S. administration.

This is an illustrative photo