Russia reports 'massive' drone attack on industrial site as reports say oil refinery hit

Russian authorities said a major drone attack targeted an "industrial enterprise" in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast overnight, amid reports that a key oil refinery was struck in the region.

In a post on Telegram, regional governor Gleb Nikitin said a "massive UAV attack" caused "significant damage" to an industrial facility in the Kstovsky district.

"More than 100 drones have been destroyed," he wrote, adding that early information indicated no casualties and that emergency crews were working at the scene.

"Whilst restoration work is underway, there may be temporary power cuts, as well as reduced hot water and heating supplies in certain sections of the utility networks serving residential buildings," Nikitin said.

Telegram war monitoring channels said an attack targeted the Kstovo oil refinery, also known as the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery, thought to be one of Russia's largest such facilities.

According to Lukoil, the site produces diesel and aviation fuel, among other products.

Earlier this week, a major fire reportedly broke out at another oil refinery in Russia's Samara region following a drone attack, with images and video posted on social media showing multiple towering columns of black smoke filling the skyline.

That incident followed reports that Ukraine had paused strikes on Russian refineries amid pressure from Washington, which has blamed the attacks for rising global diesel prices.

Ukraine had been stepping up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure this year, particularly targeting facilities such as oil refineries, terminals and depots, in a bid to hit a critical Russian economic driver and degrade the Kremlin's war effort.

The latest reported attack comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said around 280,000 Ukrainian households were left without power after Russian strikes on Ukraine on Friday night.

"Russian strikes have created a difficult situation with electricity supplies across our regions," Zelenskyy wrote on X on Saturday, saying around 200,000 households in Dnipro and the wider region were without electricity, while a further 80,000 or more in the Kyiv region were also without power.

The Ukrainian leader said Russian forces hit a "combined heat and power plant" in Kyiv as well as four electrical substations in the eastern Dnipro region, among other targets.