Drones cause 'significant damage' at Russian industrial site near Kstovo refinery as Russia fires 433 drones at Ukraine in one night
A Russian governor reports 'significant damage' near the Kstovo refinery; Russia launched 433 drones at Ukraine and Kyiv saw emergency power cuts.
At a glance
- Nizhny Novgorod governor Gleb Nikitin says a massive drone attack caused significant damage at an industrial facility in the Kstovo district; more than 100 drones were reported destroyed.
- Monitoring channels say the target was Lukoil's Kstovo refinery, Russia's fourth-largest. That has not been independently confirmed.
- Ukraine's air force says Russia launched 433 drones overnight, 64 of them jet-powered, and 371 were shot down, with hits at 16 locations.
- Emergency power cuts were introduced in Kyiv, days after strikes left 280,000 households without electricity.
A massive drone attack caused "significant damage" to an industrial facility in Russia's Kstovo district overnight into Sunday, the governor of Nizhny Novgorod region said, as monitoring channels reported that a major Lukoil oil refinery had been hit. On the same night, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 433 drones at Ukraine, with hits recorded at 16 locations.
Governor Gleb Nikitin said more than 100 drones were destroyed in his region and that early information suggested no casualties. He did not name the site.
What is known about the Kstovo target
Ukrainian monitoring channels published footage they said showed an attack on the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery, known as NORSI, which sits about 800 km from the Ukrainian border. That has not been independently verified, and neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed it.
If it was the target, it matters. NORSI is Russia's fourth-largest refinery and its second-largest gasoline producer, handling about 15 to 17 million tonnes of crude a year. It also makes diesel and aviation fuel. A confirmed strike on August 26 started a large fire and halted its operations.
Nikitin warned that people in parts of the district could face temporary power cuts and reduced hot water and heating during repairs.
The night in numbers
| Measure | Figure | Source of the figure |
|---|---|---|
| Drones launched at Ukraine | 433 | Ukraine's air force |
| Of those, jet-powered | 64 | Ukraine's air force |
| Shot down or neutralised | 371 | Ukraine's air force |
| Locations hit | 16 | Ukraine's air force |
| Drones destroyed over Nizhny Novgorod | More than 100 | Governor Nikitin |
Each side's figures come from its own military or officials, and neither can be independently checked.
Kyiv's power cuts, and an energy war that never paused
Emergency power outages were introduced in Kyiv on Sunday because of attacks on the energy system, according to the private power company DTEK. Zelensky said on Friday that Russian strikes on energy and railway infrastructure had left about 280,000 households in the Dnipro and Kyiv regions without electricity, as temperatures begin to fall.
This is the same energy war that President Trump declared paused last month. He announced an "energy ceasefire" on October 11, and Russia hit a power plant in Kharkiv within hours. Kyiv later made clear it never formally agreed to stop refinery strikes except as part of a mutual deal, and it stopped for about 72 hours. Washington has also complained that Ukrainian attacks on refineries add to global diesel prices at a time when the Iran war has already pushed them higher.
Strikes have since resumed. A major fire broke out this week at a refinery in Russia's Samara region after a drone attack.
Why fuel buyers elsewhere should care
Russia is a major exporter of diesel, so damage to its refineries can tighten supply on world markets already strained by the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz. For Pakistan, which now reprices fuel on a rolling average of world prices and has just raised diesel by Rs2.29 a litre, that can reach pumps quickly. One night's strike rarely moves prices much on its own; repeated strikes on big plants can.
Inside Ukraine, the concern is more immediate. Each big attack on the grid comes closer to winter, when outages cut heat as well as light. Regular outage schedules do not apply during emergency cuts, so households in Kyiv should follow the power company's own notices.
Russia's defence ministry has also reported large numbers of Ukrainian drones shot down over its territory in recent days. The next signal will be any confirmation from Kyiv's general staff about Kstovo, and satellite images of the plant.
