Fire Point Says FP-1s Hit a Rosneft Diesel Unit Hours After Kyiv's Refinery Pause Went Public

Fire Point says its Ukrainian-built FP-1 drones struck a diesel treatment unit at Rosneft's Samara refinery, a day after the WSJ reported Kyiv had paused refinery attacks under Trump pressure.

Ukraine struck Rosneft's Novokuybyshevsk refinery in Russia's Samara region early Oct. 30, ending a two-week pause in refinery attacks that came under Trump administration pressure, The Wall Street Journal reported. The attack started a fire. It was the first refinery strike since Ryazan on Oct. 15.

FP-1 long-range drones carried out the strike, their Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point claimed on Telegram. The company listed numerous hits across the plant and named a diesel fuel hydrotreatment unit among the damaged facilities. That damage assessment is the manufacturer's own.

Independent Russian outlet ASTRA identified the burning site as the refinery from reader photographs. Kyiv had not claimed the strike by Friday morning. Samara Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev blamed Kyiv for "a record number of drones" and said no one was hurt.

Rosneft has owned the plant since 2007 and lists its capacity at about 8.8 million tonnes of crude a year. It makes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for Russia's Aerospace Forces. After an April 18 strike, it suspended both primary distillation units, AVT-11 and AVT-9.

The Journal disclosed the pause on Oct. 29, citing people familiar with the operations. Long-range units were told in mid-October to stop new refinery missions once flights already underway were complete. The pause was expected to last until after the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections, possibly deeper into November. Jared Kushner had pressed for a 30-day halt. Kyiv asked for a Russian stop to energy strikes or more Patriot missiles in return, and got neither.

Kyiv never confirmed the arrangement. "They have no order not to attack oil refineries," Zelensky told reporters on Oct. 27.

Trump has blamed Ukrainian refinery strikes for rising diesel prices. "He better damn well stop," he said on Oct. 10.

The pause was a decision by Ukraine's own high command over Ukrainian-built drones, and commanders kept the latitude to resume, the Journal's sources said. Fire Point now says those drones hit a diesel unit, the fuel at the center of Trump's complaint. U.S. voters go to the polls on Nov. 3.