Ukraine has not confirmed any strikes on facilities.
The Bashneft-Novoil site is part of a larger industrial cluster that includes the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim and Bashneft-UNPZ refineries, making Ufa’s Northern Industrial Zone one of Russia’s largest petrochemical hubs.
Russian media reported that Ukrainian drones previously targeted the area on March 22, sparking another fire. A day earlier, on March 21, two drones struck a high-rise building under construction near the industrial zone.
Since late March, Ukrainian drones have also targeted Russian oil export ports on the Baltic Sea, through which up to 40% of the country’s oil exports pass. UAVs struck Russia’s key Baltic export hub of Ust-Luga overnight on March 30–31, the fourth attack on the port in just a week.
Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko confirmed damage to the facility without specifying targets.
Earlier strikes on March 25, 27, and 29 had already disrupted operations at Ust-Luga, which handles crude oil and refined products, with roughly 700,000 barrels passing through daily.
The attacks come amid rising global energy prices and broader regional tensions involving the US, Israel, and Iran. Analysts say Ukraine is increasingly targeting Russian export infrastructure to cut Moscow’s wartime revenues.
Industry sources told Reuters the strikes are complicating logistics, while Bloomberg reported Russia earned $2.5 billion from oil exports in the week before the attacks – the highest since April 2022, with revenues surging as Urals crude exceeded $120 per barrel in India.
Meanwhile, Russian pro-war bloggers are increasingly acknowledging the impact of these strikes, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). On of the Z-bloggers argued such strikes will intensify and said Russia lacks the capacity to produce enough interceptor missiles, leaving it “doomed to defeat” unless it urgently “solves the problem of ending the war.”
He suggested Moscow faces two options: agree to a “shameful peace” or launch a decisive offensive – something he said the Kremlin is not politically ready to do.
Despite growing pressure, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signaled no shift in course. At a closed-door meeting with oligarchs on March 26, he reportedly urged them to “throw money” into the war, according to independent outlet The Bell.
“They said we will fight… We will go to the borders of Donbas,” sources told the outlet.
Putin encouraged “voluntary contributions,” with billionaire Suleiman Kerimov reportedly pledging 100 billion rubles ($1.2 billion), alongside another major, undisclosed donation.
Former US ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst told Kyiv Post that “Putin wants the fighting to continue,” noting the Kremlin has rejected multiple peace proposals while trying to drive a wedge between Kyiv and Washington.
He said Moscow is now seeking to cut US intelligence sharing and weapons transfers to Ukraine while publicly flattering US President Donald Trump.
“I would be surprised if Russia had not made this offer,” Herbst added, referring to a potential proposal to halt intelligence sharing with Iran in exchange for reduced US support for Ukraine.
“His war is not doing very well… and he has paid a great price for the big invasion,” Herbst said, stressing that Ukraine remains Putin’s central national security concern.
