ASTRA: Smoke seen near Russia's Ufa oil refinery amid drone attack PHOTO

Russia’s Bashkortostan region came under a Ukrainian drone attack on September 23, with residents reporting explosions over the regional capital, Ufa.

Local reports said air defence systems were operating in the area to intercept Ukrainian drones.

An ASTRA OSINT analyst, after examining a photograph taken by an eyewitness, identified smoke in the vicinity of the Ufa Oil Refinery. However, the analyst said it could not be ruled out that the smoke was linked to a nearby thermal power station.

A “drone threat” alert was declared in the region on the morning of September 23. Restrictions were also temporarily imposed on aircraft arrivals and departures at Ufa airport.

Regional authorities had not officially confirmed an attack on Bashkortostan.

Later, Ufa Airport resumed normal operations and the “drone threat” alert was lifted.

By Sabina Mammadli