Drones Attacked Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez: Facility Shut Down and on Fire

Drones attacked a refinery in Kstovo: the L-24/300 facility was likely damaged.

On October 16, Russian and Ukrainian media, including the CyberBoroshno community, reported explosions and smoke over the oil refinery in Kstovo (Nizhny Novgorod region).

Photos from the scene and satellite images indicate that the Lukoil-Nizhny Novgorod Oil Refinery (NORSI), one of Russia’s largest refineries, was hit.

According to preliminary data, the L-24/300 hydrotreatment unit was probably damaged. It is responsible for removing sulfur and impurities from gasoline and gas oil fractions before further processing.

Nizhny Novgorod-based vz-nn.ru reported that in the morning, drones were spotted flying over the Kstovo industrial zone. After that, a fire broke out at one of the processing units on the plant’s territory.

Lukoil confirmed to RIA that the operation of one of the processing units was temporarily suspended “due to the incident.”

Damage to the hydrotreating unit can significantly complicate the production of high-quality gasoline and diesel fuel. These units are critical to the stable operation of the refinery.

The reports of thick black smoke over the refinery, as well as the phrases “plant fire” and “temporary shutdown” coincide with the typical signs of a strike on a specific process unit, rather than an accidental fire.

This is not the first strike on this facility: on the night of October 5, explosions and a large-scale fire were also reported here. At that time, some equipment was reportedly damaged, which confirms the systemic nature of the attacks.

Amid regular attacks on oil refineries in the fall of 2025, Russian exports of petroleum products decreased by 17% in September, and crude oil flows are being redirected to ports, primarily Novorossiysk.

So far, Lukoil has not released any technical details about the damage to L-24/300. The identification of this unit is based on OSINT analysis of photos and videos, as well as on the NORSI production scheme.

The data collected indicate that the strike was targeted and hit the “clean” wing of the refinery – hydrotreatment, which directly affects the quality and volume of fuel production in Russia.

Earlier, Ukrainian drones struck a refinery in Saratov that supplied fuel to the Russian military, as confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.