On the night of March 3, residents of Ufa reported an explosion at the Bashneft plant, and a strong fire began at the enterprise. Astra* reported citing local public pages that explosions were heard and published a video of the fire on the refinery's territory. By morning, the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Bashkortostan stated that the open burning at the refinery was extinguished, noting that the fire occurred 'in the area of the incinerator'.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations added that 'no excess of harmful substances' was recorded near the plant. According to the preliminary version of the department, the fire is 'related to the technological process'.
In the Russian Ministry of Defense's report on the destruction of 7 UAVs overnight, Bashkortostan was not mentioned.
Ukrainian sources geolocated footage of the fire and concluded that the L-24-7 installation on the refinery's territory was hit, and there was also a 'direct hit on petroleum storage facilities, leading to a large-scale fire and destruction of part of the enterprise's technological infrastructure'.
Sources from UFA1 claim that there was no drone attack on the refinery, and Ufa airport did not suspend flights.
The press service of Bashneft, which owns the plant, stated that the fire did not affect the operation of the main production facilities, writes 'Interfax'.
* Recognized as a 'foreign agent' in Russia.