Drone Attack Sets Fires at Russia’s Kstovo Refinery Complex

A Ukrainian drone attack set several fires at the Kstovo refinery complex on Sunday, Nov. 1, marking the third attack on a Russian refinery in three days.

The attack affected the refinery, formally known as Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez, and the adjacent Novogorkovskaya combined heat and power plant. Among Russian refineries, Kstovo ranks fourth in size and second in gasoline production. Products made at the site include automotive gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, bitumen and specialized petroleum fractions.

The strike followed the end of a two-week pause in refinery attacks. An Oct. 30 strike on a refinery in Russia’s Samara region ended that pause.

That timeline is separate from a three-day pause in attacks on Russian energy sites described by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said Kyiv halted those attacks at Washington’s request, then resumed them because Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure continued.