Ukraine Strikes Hit Key Russian Industrial Plants, Triggering Widespread Blackouts

Drones hit multiple industrial and energy sites deep inside Russia overnight, causing fires at refineries and petrochemical plants and triggering widespread blackouts in several regions, according to Russian officials.

In the Volgograd region, a fire broke out at the Frolovskaya electrical substation on Monday evening, Nov. 3, following a reported drone attack.

Governor Andrei Bocharov confirmed that debris from a downed UAV caused the blaze. Power outages affected parts of Frolovo and neighboring districts, and a “drone danger” alert was declared across the region.

In the Kursk region, more than 16,000 consumers in Rylsky, Glushkov, and Korenovsky districts were cut off from power after what local governor Alexander Khinshtein described as an “enemy strike” on a substation.

A second substation in the village of Belaya also caught fire, leaving seven settlements without electricity.

Further east, in Bashkortostan, two drones reportedly attacked the Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant early Tuesday morning, Nov. 4.

Governor Radiy Khabirov said the UAVs were shot down, but debris caused damage and a partial collapse at the facility’s water treatment unit. No casualties were reported.

The plant, part of the Roskhim chemical holding, produces materials for the oil refining, food, medical, and plastics industries.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region, a drone strike ignited an industrial zone in Kstovo, home to the massive Lukoil-Nizhegorodnaftoorgsintez (NORSI) refinery and the SIBUR-Kstovo petrochemical plant.

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Local reports said fires broke out at NORSI, one of Russia’s largest refineries, with an annual capacity of 17 million tons and a key supplier for the Moscow region. The same refinery was previously attacked on Oct. 16.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, air defenses intercepted 85 drones across eight regions, including Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Belgorod, Kursk, Volgograd, Lipetsk, Bashkortostan, and Saratov.

Airports in Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Tambov, and Ufa temporarily suspended all arrivals and departures.

Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the strikes.