Ukrainian drones have struck a Russian strategic oil pumping station more than 1,000 kilometers from the border, igniting a massive blaze that continued into a second day, according to local reports.
The fire erupted at the Kaleykino oil pumping station near the village of the same name in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan—an installation considered a critical node in the country’s oil infrastructure. The blaze began after a series of explosions overnight into February 23, witnesses said. The flames quickly spread to crude storage tanks, and the scale of the fire was so extensive that its effects were visible in satellite imagery captured the following day.
Kaleykino is a key transit point for crude flows from Western Siberia and the Volga region, including volumes routed toward Europe via the “Druzhba” pipeline. A strike on such a facility could have serious repercussions for Russia’s energy sector.
Social media posts indicated the smoke plume stretched for tens of kilometers, with some users claiming it was visible as far away as Neftekamsk, roughly 170 kilometers from the site.
There were also unconfirmed reports of a renewed drone strike on the same facility on February 24. There has been no official confirmation of a second attack, though sources linked to Ukrainian special services had previously confirmed that Kaleykino was hit.
Notably, the site lies more than 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border - an indication of Ukraine’s expanding capacity to conduct deep strikes.
