Ukrainian drones struck multiple oil refineries and energy facilities deep inside Russian territory overnight on 13–14 July, triggering fires at the Afipsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai and the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat complex in Bashkortostan, and causing a partial blackout in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Russian regional authorities confirmed that debris from intercepted drones fell across residential areas in the Krasnodar region, damaging 16 private homes and injuring one person. In Bashkortostan, the head of the republic, Radiy Khabirov, described the attack on the Salavat petrochemical plant as the “most massive” to date, stating that 32 drones were involved, of which 18 were destroyed and the rest suppressed or lost orientation. The Russian defence ministry reported that air defence systems intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones over 16 regions and the waters of two seas during the same period.

According to Ukrainian open-source intelligence channels, the strikes targeted specific processing units at the Salavat complex, including a primary crude distillation unit and a high-density polyethylene workshop, as well as a Rosneft fuel depot in the same city. The Afipsky refinery, one of the largest in southern Russia with a capacity of 9.1 million tonnes per year, has been hit repeatedly since 2022. Viewed from Kyiv, the campaign against Russian energy infrastructure is intended to degrade fuel supplies to the Russian military and increase economic pressure on Moscow. Western officials and analysts have noted that the strikes have contributed to a significant reduction in Russian refining throughput, with Bloomberg reporting in June that output had fallen to a 21-year low.

Russian authorities moved to contain the operational and political fallout. The fire at the Afipsky refinery was extinguished, and the regional emergency headquarters said the plant would resume normal operations. In Bashkortostan, the deputy industry minister stated that the Salavat fire had been put out and that the incident would not affect the republic’s fuel market, citing ample production capacity and reserves. Environmental monitoring in Salavat found no exceedances of permissible pollutant concentrations. In Crimea, the Kremlin-installed governor of Sevastopol confirmed an attack on energy infrastructure that left parts of the city without power, with local Telegram channels reporting a likely strike on the Balaklava thermal power station. A state of emergency remains in effect across the peninsula following earlier Ukrainian strikes on energy sites.

The attacks occurred hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed a “several times more powerful” response to Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian territory, and as European leaders gathered in Paris for a meeting of the “coalition of the willing.” At that meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would license the production of AASM guided bombs, Aster interceptor missiles, and SCALP cruise missiles in Ukraine, and that Kyiv had ordered Rafale fighter jets and Franco-Italian air defence systems. Nine European countries also formed a “purely defensive” coalition to develop ballistic missile defence capabilities. The Kremlin dismissed the Paris gathering as a “coalition of warmongers.” Russian officials have not announced specific retaliatory measures beyond Putin’s earlier statement, while restoration work at the damaged refineries is expected to take several days. The dossier remains open as both sides continue to exchange long-range strikes.