Russia's Kstovo oil refinery attacked: Large-scale fire breaks out at facility
Photo: Fire at the oil refinery in Kstovo (social media)
The Russian city of Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region came under attack overnight on November 1. The strikes sparked a fire at Russia's largest oil refinery, according to OSINT channels.
At around 04:11 am local time, footage showing a fire in Kstovo began circulating widely on social media. Local residents complained that explosions could be heard in the city, while OSINT channels reported that the Kstovo oil refinery had been hit, triggering a large-scale fire at the facility. Flames could be seen in several locations.
Local authorities have not commented on the situation, and it remains unclear what was used to attack the refinery. However, as is often the case, it was most likely a drone attack. Against this backdrop, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) announced restrictions on airport operations, at least in Nizhny Novgorod.
The Kstovo oil refinery is among the five largest oil refineries in Russia and is also Lukoil's largest refinery in terms of installed capacity. Its designed capacity is approximately 17 million tons of oil per year.
"A massive UAV attack is taking place in the Nizhny Novgorod region overnight and this morning: more than a hundred drones have been destroyed... An industrial facility in the Kstovo district sustained significant damage. An assessment of the damage to civilian infrastructure and property is ongoing," regional governor Gleb Nikitin wrote on Telegram.
What else is important to know
Overnight on October 30, the Russian city of Novokuybyshevsk in the Samara region came under a drone attack. Following the attack, a fire broke out at the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery.
We also reported that, according to media reports, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is strongly pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries. The reports concern their meeting in Oslo on October 20.
