Russia Reports Over 100 Drones Destroyed in Nizhny Novgorod Attack

Russian authorities reported a large drone attack on the Nizhny Novgorod region overnight on 1 November. Governor Gleb Nikitin stated that air defences destroyed more than 100 drones and that an industrial enterprise in the Kstovo district sustained significant damage. Preliminary information indicated no casualties. He later reported that falling debris injured a woman in a car; she was treated and released.

Nikitin did not name the damaged facility. Telegram monitoring channels and Ukrainian media said the target was the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Kstovo, also known as NORSI. The plant has a design capacity of about 17 million tonnes of crude a year and produces diesel and aviation fuel among other products. Local residents reported explosions and a large fire. Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the terrorism article of the Criminal Code and attributed the attack to Ukrainian armed formations.

The same refinery has been struck in previous months, including in June, when it was shut for a period and later reported operating at reduced capacity. Nizhny Novgorod is a major industrial region. Temporary power cuts and reduced heating and hot-water supplies were possible during repairs, the governor said. Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that 235 drones were shot down across the country overnight.

The attack occurred as a localised ceasefire in Ukraine’s Kherson region was ending. Ukrainian forces have conducted repeated strikes on Russian energy infrastructure throughout 2026. Official Russian statements continue to describe damaged sites only as industrial enterprises without confirming specific refinery hits. Open-source footage circulating on 1 November showed multiple points of fire and thick smoke rising from the Kstovo industrial area.

Investigators are working to identify the types of drones used and the units involved. The incident is the latest in a series of reported strikes on Russian refining capacity. Earlier in the week another refinery in the Samara region was also reported on fire after a drone attack. Russian authorities have said they are taking measures to maintain fuel availability at petrol stations in the affected region.

The Kstovo plant supplies fuel to both the armed forces and the Moscow region. Its repeated targeting has drawn attention because of its size and location roughly 400 km east of Moscow. No independent confirmation of the precise impact on production has been released by Russian authorities. The governor’s updates focused on the number of drones destroyed and the fact of significant damage to one industrial site.

Ukrainian officials have not issued a detailed public claim for this specific strike in the hours immediately after the attack. Russian statements have consistently framed such incidents as terrorist acts. The combination of high drone numbers reported destroyed and confirmed damage on the ground indicates that some of the incoming systems reached the target area.