Nikitin: Facility in Kstovo Damaged, More Than 100 Drones Downed Over Region
Key Facts
Nizhny Novgorod region governor Gleb Nikitin said an industrial facility in the city of Kstovo was significantly damaged during an attack on the night of November 1, without naming the facility or providing details on the extent of the damage. The Associated Press quoted him as describing the damage as "significant," noting that he gave no further details. Nikitin also said more than 100 Ukrainian drones were downed over the region overnight. That figure does not mean that more than 100 drones took part in the attack on Kstovo; it describes the drones authorities said were downed over the region. Authorities have not confirmed that the refinery in Kstovo was the damaged facility, and the impact of the attack on the operation of any facility or on fuel supplies remains unclear.
Russian media reported a fire at the Kstovo refinery after the attack, but reports of the fire did not officially establish that the refinery was the facility mentioned by the governor. The city is home to a Lukoil refinery, but the available information about the incident does not establish whether it was hit. In a previous attack in August 2026, Ukraine's General Staff said its forces had struck Lukoil's refinery in Kstovo. The Associated Press at the time estimated the facility's annual processing capacity at about 125 million barrels. The agency said Nizhny Novgorod region had been targeted repeatedly, without specifying the number of attacks.
The latest attack comes as Russia's refining sector faces mounting pressure, according to the International Energy Agency. Russia has 32 major refineries with combined installed refining capacity of about 6.5 million barrels per day, according to the agency's estimate published in September 2026. But it said refinery output fell in June to 3.8 million barrels per day, its lowest level in more than 20 years and about 30% below its level a year earlier. The agency estimated that gasoline output fell 20% compared with 2025 levels, while diesel output declined about 30%. It said the Russian government restricted fuel exports to protect domestic supplies after output fell.
The International Energy Agency linked pressure on refining to repeated attacks on facilities, saying a Russian refinery was attacked once every three days on average during the first eight months of 2026. According to the agency, only five major Russian refineries had been hit by a Ukrainian drone by late August. The attack record cited by the agency points to a widening campaign against refining facilities, but does not establish whether the November 1 attack affected output at the refinery in Kstovo. The agency lowered its forecast for average Russian refinery output to 4 million barrels per day for the rest of 2026 and in 2027. It said repairs to more complex secondary refining units, when severely damaged, can take an average of 6 to 8 months.
In Ukraine, the air force said Russia attacked the country with 433 drones during the night of October 31 to November 1, and that air defenses destroyed or neutralized 371 of them. President Volodymyr Zelensky said hundreds of thousands of households lost power overnight as energy systems continued to be targeted. Regional authorities, according to the Associated Press, said Russian attacks targeted the Kyiv region for a second consecutive day, damaging energy infrastructure, homes and a commercial facility, and injuring a woman. In Nizhny Novgorod region, Nikitin said repair work on utility facilities was underway. He warned of possible temporary power cuts and reduced hot water and heating supplies in some parts of residential utility networks.