The Russian government has officially reacted to the explosion that rocked the country's largest oil facility, the Ufimsky oil refinery, on Monday.
According to Reuters, Russia's emergency ministry stated that the inferno was caused by technical issues.
The government confirmed that the fire had been extinguished and that the refinery remained operational. However, authorities did not comment on whether the incident affected production output.
"The fire is related to technical issues" and broke out near a furnace, the region's emergency ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, citing initial findings.
Bashkortostan's leader, Radiy Khabirov, stated that no traces of drones were found, according to the Interfax news agency, and that production was continuing as normal.
The refinery has a capacity of 168,000 barrels per day, with the bulk of its feedstock sourced from the surrounding area in Western Siberia.
Authorities did not mention a drone attack but confirmed that the fire resulted from an explosion. Meanwhile, federal authorities did not report any drones being shot down over Ufa, contrary to some claims.
Refinery fires in Russia have become a growing concern among oil traders as the Ukrainian army targets critical infrastructure to disrupt the Russian energy industry. Despite the need to shut down some refineries for repairs following drone attacks, there have been no major disruptions in fuel export flows.
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