Ukrainian drones attacked the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in Russia’s Samara region and a plant belonging to the army food supplier Konservsushprod in the town of Starodub in the Bryansk region overnight into Friday. According to the Kyiv Post, fires broke out at both facilities. The attacks took place on the night of Friday, 30 October, as the Kyiv Post reported the same day.
The refinery in Novokuibyshevsk has belonged to the Russian oil company Rosneft since 2007 and processes around 8.8 million tonnes of crude oil a year, according to the Kyiv Post. It produces more than 20 petroleum products, including Euro-5 petrol, diesel, bitumen and petroleum coke, as well as kerosene for the Russian Aerospace Forces. Residents reported explosions and air-defence activity in the early morning, according to the independent Russian news agency ASTRA. The regional authorities reportedly issued a drone alert at around 6 a.m., when the attack was already under way. An ASTRA OSINT analyst identified the refinery as the site of the fire using readers’ photos.
According to the Kyiv Post, it is the first reported attack on a Russian refinery in almost two weeks. The last strikes were on the Ryazan refinery on 15 October and on an industrial facility in Surgut on 16 October. The pause reportedly came under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries and energy infrastructure. Ukraine reportedly shifted its drone campaign to the Russian metals industry in the meantime. The refinery in Novokuibyshevsk had already been targeted several times, most recently on 22 August. After attacks on 18 April, the plant shut down its two main distillation units, AVT-11 and AVT-9.
In Starodub, according to the Kyiv Post, a large fire broke out after the attack on the Konservsushprod plant. The company describes itself as a long-established supplier of canned goods and single portions for Russian security forces and armed forces and holds the rights to the “Russian Army” brand. The plant had already been attacked in 2023 and 2025.
The drone attacks also led to temporary closures at airports in the Moscow region. According to the Kyiv Post, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency imposed temporary take-off and landing restrictions at Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky airports. Yaroslavl airport was also closed. Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said that between the evening of 29 October and 7 a.m. on 30 October, 862 drones flew towards the Moscow region. Most were intercepted at a distance from the capital, and 170 drones were shot down on approach to Moscow.
