On the night of 21–22 September, the Samara Region of the Russian Federation was attacked by drones. The Russian authorities confirmed the large-scale attack and stated that industrial facilities were the targets. Local residents reported a series of explosions and a major fire, whilst OSINT sources and Ukrainian media identified the site of the fire as the Kuibyshev Oil Refinery in Samara.
• A series of explosions rocked the Samara Region of the Russian Federation during the night.
• The Russian authorities have stated that drones attacked industrial facilities.
• OSINT sources report a fire at the Kuibyshev Oil Refinery.
• In Samara, windows in houses, a roof and a car were damaged.
• Kurumoch Airport temporarily suspended the arrival and departure of flights.
A huge column of smoke rose above Samara
The first reports of explosions in Samara began to emerge at around four o’clock in the morning. Local residents posted photos and videos of a massive fire with thick black smoke.
The Exilenova+ and Supernova+ monitoring channels, as well as OSINT researchers, have identified the location of the fire Kuibyshev Oil Refinery. The footage released shows a major fire in the industrial area.
Governor of the Samara Region Vyacheslav Fedoryshchev He did not disclose the specific name of the company, but confirmed that The targets of the attack were industrial sites. According to him, «dozens of drones» were shot down over the region.
There has been damage to civilian infrastructure
Mayor of Samara Ivan Noskov reported on the consequences of the falling debris. According to preliminary reports, the windows of several residential buildings, the roof of one of the buildings and a car were damaged. Emergency services and investigators were working at the scene. At the time of publication, there were no reports of any casualties.
The drone attack alert was in force in the Samara Region from approximately 01:30 to 07:00. Russian regional media report that Samara and Novokuybyshevsk were targeted.
Kurumoch Airport suspended operations
Following the attack, Rosaviatsiya implemented the «Kilim» plan at the airport Kurumoch. At approximately 03:08, the airport temporarily suspended the arrival and departure of flights. The restrictions remained in place for several hours due to a drone threat.
The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that, overall, during the night of 22 September, Russian air defence forces allegedly intercepted 297 drones across various regions of the country. The agency has not released a specific figure for the Samara Oblast, whilst local authorities speak of «dozens» of drones.
What is known about the Kuibyshev Oil Refinery
Kuibyshev Oil Refinery is owned by the Russian state-owned oil company «Rosneft» and is one of the largest oil refineries in the Samara Region.
According to official figures from Rosneft, the plant’s design capacity is approximately 6.7 million tonnes of oil per year. The company produces petrol, diesel and other petroleum products.
This is not the first attack on the plant. In June 2026, Reuters reported that, following a drone strike, the Kuibyshev Oil Refinery had halted oil processing due to damage to two key primary processing units. In 2024, the refinery processed approximately 4.7 million tonnes of oil.
At present, there is no reliable information regarding the extent of the damage following the night-time attack on 22 September or a possible halt to production.
