A fire was reported at the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region after explosions during the night of November 5–6, 2026. The site is one of the region’s largest refineries and is under European Union sanctions, but local authorities have not confirmed that the refinery was where the fire started.

What is known about the fire

The monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported a fire at the refinery. Kyiv Independent, citing monitoring channels, attributed the attack to Ukrainian drones; the channel Astra also reported explosions and air-defence activity. The attribution has not been officially confirmed, and Ukraine had not commented at the time of Radio Chisinau’s report.

Local authorities said drone fragments caused a fire at an enterprise and reported no casualties. They did not identify the enterprise as the Afipsky refinery, so their statement does not confirm that the refinery itself was hit. There was no official confirmation of a strike on the refinery or information about damage, disrupted operations or casualties there.

Smoke was reported over the area the following morning. Residents told Radio Chisinau it reached the outskirts of Krasnodar, the regional capital; Polish outlet Interia also reported smoke stretching in the city’s direction.

Why the refinery matters

The refinery was included on the EU sanctions list in April over its attributed role in supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. Radio Chisinau reported that it belongs to the Safmar group, owned by Mikhail Gutseriev, who is also under EU sanctions. The facility produces gasoline and diesel, mainly for export, according to the same outlet.

Accounts give different figures for its annual processing capacity: Interia put it at about 6.25 million tonnes, while Radio Chisinau reported about 7.2 million tonnes. The reports do not explain the discrepancy. Radio Chisinau also described the incident as the refinery’s seventh drone attack since the start of the year.

A wider reported campaign

The Afipsky report came amid a series of attacks on Russian oil infrastructure reported since October 29. Radio Chisinau listed facilities in the Samara region, Bashkiria, Yaroslavl and Ryazan, as well as a Lukoil site in Kstovo and the Prosvet pumping station in the Samara region. Explosions and fires were also reported in neighboring Adygea on the night of November 5–6.

Interia cited the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN as estimating that attacks since late October had put about 10% of Russia’s oil-refining capacity out of operation. That figure concerns the wider campaign, not the reported fire at Afipsky; available information does not establish whether this refinery’s operations were affected.