In the first, a drone attacks an oil refinery in Bashkortostan, Russia

A drone attacked an oil refinery in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan, according to regional authorities said On Thursday, the first such case was reported in the region since Moscow invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.

“A drone attacked the industrial zone of the city of Salavat at around 1 p.m. today, after which smoke appeared at one of Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat’s facilities,” said Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov.

He added that Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, Russia’s 10th-largest refinery with a capacity of 10 million tons of oil per year, was “operating as normal” despite the attack.

Khabirov said emergency services and law enforcement were at the scene and promised to provide updates throughout the day. He did not specify where the drone came from or whether there were any casualties in the attack.

Thursday’s drone strike was the first ever to target the Republic of Bashkortostan, which lies about 1,500 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

Drones at the beginning of April attacked Russia’s third largest oil refinery in the neighboring republic of Tatarstan, around 1,300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

According to Russian media reports, Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries in Russia have led to a collapse in the country’s gasoline production.