Major Russian Refinery Burns After New Drone Strike

A major fire broke out at Russia’s Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in the city of Kstovo after the facility was hit by drones for the second time in three days.

Nizhny Novgorod region Governor Gleb Nikitin said air defenses had intercepted 30 drones over the region overnight and into the morning. According to him, falling debris damaged two industrial sites in the Kstovo district. Authorities have not yet confirmed what exactly is burning, although schools in the area have switched to remote learning.

Telegram channel Astra, citing local residents, reported explosions and a large fire at the refinery. According to the reports, the ELOU-AVT processing unit, used for primary crude oil refining, was struck.

The facility is one of Russia’s largest refineries and supplies fuel to the Moscow region. It processes around 17 million tonnes of crude oil annually and produces more than 50 petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Russia’s defense ministry said a total of 273 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted across several regions of the country.

(pravda.ua, bak)