Ukrainian drones strike Russia's Tambov region, reportedly hitting Druzhba oil pipeline facility
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia's Tambov region overnight on October 20, causing a fire at one facility. Ukrainian and independent monitors believe the target was the Nikolskoye station on the Druzhba oil pipeline system.
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia's Tambov region overnight on October 20, and a fire broke out at one of the facilities, regional governor Yevgeny Pervyshev said. He gave no further details, saying only that nobody was injured. The strike comes as Ukrainian forces have for several months repeatedly hit Russian oil refineries.
The likely target
Ukraine's Exilenova+ monitoring project and open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts from the independent Telegram channel Astra believe the drones hit the Nikolskoye linear production and dispatching station in Michurinsky District. The claim has not been officially confirmed.
The Nikolskoye station is a key node in the Druzhba trunk oil pipeline system. It receives, stores, pumps and transits oil and petroleum products, with a capacity of up to 300,000 tons of oil per day.
Earlier attacks
Ukrainian drones had already hit this station at least twice in the summer of 2025. Ukraine's repeated strikes on Russian refineries over recent months have become one of the main drivers of the country's fuel crisis.
No official information on the consequences for the station's operations has been given.
