Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Hub and Military Airbase

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported precision strikes on November 13 against two strategic Russian targets: the Samara linear production and dispatch station and the Lipetsk-2 military airbase. The attack on the Samara oil hub ignited multiple crude storage reservoirs at a facility used to blend the Urals export blend. Military authorities stated that because Urals accounts for up to half of all Russian oil exports, damaging the Samara site strikes the primary funding source for Russian missiles and drones.

Simultaneously, strikes at the Lipetsk-2 airbase damaged a fuel storage reservoir, a hangar for aircraft maintenance equipment, and the central command and dispatch post. These operations are part of a wider Ukrainian campaign to degrade Russian energy and military-industrial infrastructure.

Recent preceding operations included the use of Neptune cruise missiles to target a microelectronics plant in Oryol and drone facilities in Rostov-on-Don. Those strikes hit a production workshop and storage site for drone maker Ionos, a maintenance center for Aero-Hit LLC, and the Proton-Elektroteks plant, which produces components for Iskander missiles.