Massive Drone Attack Hits Kstovo Oil Refinery in Russia, Governor Confirms Damage

A massive overnight drone attack has damaged an industrial facility in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, the regional governor has confirmed, as Ukrainian media reported that the target was one of the country’s largest oil refineries. The Kstovo oil refinery drone strike is the latest in a renewed wave of attacks on Russian energy sites, and it comes as both sides trade blows against each other’s power and fuel infrastructure.

Gleb Nikitin, the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, said in a post on Telegram that a “massive UAV attack” took place overnight and into the morning of Sunday, 1 November. He said more than 100 drones were destroyed and that an industrial enterprise in the Kstovsky district had sustained significant damage. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties, and emergency crews were working at the scene.

FAKTA

• Where: Kstovsky district, Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia — around 800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
• What happened: A massive overnight drone attack; regional governor Gleb Nikitin confirmed significant damage to an industrial enterprise.
• Drones destroyed: More than 100, according to the governor.
• Casualties: None reported, according to preliminary information from the governor.
• Reported target: Ukrainian media and monitoring channels identified the site as the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez (NORSI) refinery in Kstovo; the governor did not name the facility, and the refinery identification remains unverified by independent sources.
• The plant: Russia’s fourth-largest oil refinery and its second-largest producer of petrol, processing around 15 to 17 million tonnes of crude a year.

What the governor confirmed — and what he did not

Governor Nikitin confirmed the scale of the attack and the damage, but he did not identify the facility or describe its activities. In his Telegram post, reported by RIA Novosti, he wrote that “more than 100 drones” had been destroyed and that “according to preliminary information, there are no casualties”. He added that restoration work was under way, warning that there could be temporary power cuts and reduced hot water and heating supplies in some residential areas while repairs continue.

The identification of the site as the Kstovo refinery comes from Ukrainian monitoring channels, including Exilenova+ and Supernova+, which published reports and footage of a fire at the plant, and from Ukrainian media reports cited by the Kyiv Independent. Those reports have not been independently verified, and Ukraine’s military had not issued a detailed official statement confirming the attack at the time of the initial reports.

Why the Kstovo oil refinery drone strike matters

The Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery, known as NORSI, is one of Russia’s largest oil-processing plants. It ranks as the country’s fourth-largest refinery and its second-largest producer of petrol, with an annual crude-processing capacity of approximately 15 to 17 million tonnes. The site also produces diesel, aviation fuel and bitumen.

An oil refinery plant. The Kstovo refinery is one of Russia’s largest fuel producers.

The plant has been targeted before. A strike on 26 August caused a large fire and forced the refinery to suspend operations for a period, according to earlier reports. The latest reported attack would be the second major incident at the same plant this year.

A wider pattern of refinery strikes

The reported Kstovo attack is the third strike on a Russian oil refinery in recent days, following reported attacks on refineries in Ufa and in the Samara region. Moscow said on Friday that Ukraine had resumed strikes on Russian oil facilities after a pause of several days. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Ukraine had resumed attacks on Russian plants, hitting three oil refineries and one gas-chemical complex.

Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russian oil and gas sites this year, targeting refineries, terminals and depots in an effort to weaken a key source of revenue for Russia’s war effort. Russia, in turn, has continued large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Strikes on Ukraine’s power grid continue

The latest reported attack comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said around 280,000 Ukrainian households had been left without power after Russian strikes on Friday night. He said around 200,000 households in the Dnipro region and a further 80,000 or more in the Kyiv region were without electricity, after Russian forces hit a combined heat and power plant in Kyiv and four electrical substations in the Dnipro region.

What happens next

Damage assessments at the Kstovo site are still under way, and neither the full extent of the damage nor any disruption to the refinery’s operations has been confirmed. The incident underlines how the campaign against energy infrastructure on both sides continues to shape the war, with fuel supplies and electricity networks now central targets. Further official statements from the regional authorities and from Ukraine’s military are expected as assessments continue.

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