The Makhachkala Transshipment Oil Depot. Photo: screenshot from FSB Public Relations Center video
Drones attacked multiple targets in the Republic of Dagestan in southern Russia on Tuesday morning, The Insider was able to confirm. The most notable affected site was the Makhachkala Transshipment Oil Depot (formerly Dagnefteprodukt), the largest oil facility in the North Caucasus. The complex sits on Makhachkala’s northern outskirts near the port and a rail line.
Several drones were shot down on the approach to the city, near villages north of Makhachkala, with local Telegram channels claiming residents used hunting rifles to down some of them.
Video circulating online showed two additional strikes. One hit the Dagnotekh oil refinery (Dagestanskie Novye Tekhnologii), according to the independent Russian media outlet Astra. Another struck a commercial building in the same industrial zone. Automatic gunfire could be heard in the footage, apparently from military or territorial defense units firing at drones.
Dagestan governor Sergei Melikov confirmed the attack, saying one of the republic’s enterprises was targeted. He reported no casualties, adding that damage was being assessed. A “drone danger” regime was introduced in Makhachkala, and the local airport temporarily restricted arrivals and departures.
Mayor Djambulat Salavov initially reported damage to commercial sites and two vehicles, then deleted the post. Photos showed military personnel and khaki-colored equipment.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 21, air defenses intercepted and destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones: eight over Dagestan, three over the Black Sea, and two over occupied Crimea.
An earlier drone attack in Dagestan occurred in November 2024, when UAVs struck the Russian Navy’s Caspian Flotilla base in the town of Kaspiysk.