Fire Rages for Second Day at Russia’s Key Oil Hub After Ukrainian Strike

A fire continued for a second day at one of Russia’s largest oil transportation hubs in the Samara region following a Ukrainian drone strike on Nov. 2, with footage showing a massive plume of smoke rising above the facility’s storage tanks. The attack targeted the Samara Linear Production and Dispatch Station (LPDS), a major facility operated by Russia’s state-owned pipeline company Transneft, located near the settlement of Prosvet, approximately 30 kilometers from the regional capital.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The station is one of the largest oil storage facilities in Europe, with 71 tanks holding more than 1.6 million cubic meters of crude oil. Spanning more than 216 hectares, it serves as a critical junction in Russia’s oil transportation network, where four major pipelines converge. Footage published by the Russian investigative outlet Astra and Ukrainian monitoring channels showed thick black smoke rising from the direction of the facility. Astra cited eyewitness accounts and footage from local residents. Samara Region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev acknowledged a Ukrainian drone attack on the region but did not identify the facility as a target or report damage. He said air defense systems and mobile fire groups were operating. Why the Samara oil hub matters The Samara LPDS is more than a storage depot. It is a major transportation and distribution center connecting oil-producing regions in Western Siberia, Tatarstan, the Orenburg region and Kazakhstan to Russia’s wider pipeline network. Other Topics of Interest US Investors Close to Buying Lukoil’s Foreign Assets, Sources Tell Reuters Under US sanctions from 2025, Russia’s oil giant Lukoil is now selling its oil fields and gas stations abroad. Four major trunk pipelines converge at the facility: Almetyevsk–Kuibyshev, Kaltasy–Kuibyshev, Nizhnevartovsk–Kurgan–Kuibyshev and Guryev–Kuibyshev. The station receives, stores and redistributes crude oil, routing supplies toward Russian refineries and export infrastructure, including the Druzhba pipeline. It also plays a role in preparing Russia’s Urals export blend, the country’s main crude oil export grade. Oil from different producing regions is mixed to achieve the required specifications before being transported to export markets. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Urals accounts for as much as half of Russia’s oil exports, making facilities involved in its production and transportation strategically important to Moscow’s energy revenues. The hub’s importance extends beyond Russia. It also handles Kazakh crude transported through the Atyrau–Samara pipeline, one of Kazakhstan’s routes for exporting oil through Russian territory. Kazakhstan temporarily suspended oil transportation through the pipeline following the Nov. 2 attack. Its Energy Ministry said pumping resumed on Nov. 3 after a technical inspection, with the route returning to normal operations. Repeated attacks on the facility The Nov. 2 strike was not the first time the Samara LPDS had been targeted. Kyiv Post previously reported several attacks on the facility in October, including strikes on Oct. 2, 7, 10 and 11. The Oct. 7 attack caused particularly significant damage. Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed that an earlier strike on Oct. 2 had damaged 11 storage tanks with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters each and three tanks holding 50,000 cubic meters each. Following the Oct. 7 attack, the destruction of four additional 50,000-cubic-meter storage tanks was confirmed, with satellite imagery showing the extent of the damage. The latest attack also came amid a renewed wave of Ukrainian strikes against Russia’s refining industry. On Oct. 30, drones struck Rosneft’s Novokuibyshevsk refinery in Samara Oblast. The following day, Bashneft’s Novoil refinery in Ufa, in Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan, was hit. On Nov. 1, the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez (NORSI) refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast was targeted, while a fire broke out at the Novo-Yaroslavl refinery (Slavneft-YANOS) following a reported drone attack. Ukraine had temporarily paused attacks on Russian refineries following US President Donald Trump’s request to President Volodymyr Zelensky not to target Russian fuel production. However, attacks on other elements of Russia’s oil infrastructure, including transportation and storage facilities, have continued. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.