Ukrainian Defence Intelligence drones hit oil depot in Russia’s Kstovo, UP sources say – photo, video
Pravda Ukraine
Drones operated by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) struck an oil depot belonging to the Russian oil giant Lukoil in the town of Kstovo in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on the night of 28-29 January.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in DIU; Russian media outlet Astra; Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, on Telegram
Details: Ukrainska Pravda sources within DIU stated that the facility, which supports Russian military operations, had been attacked around midnight local time.
Reports suggest that residents of Kstovo have reported at least three explosions at the facility on social media. Meanwhile, sources from Ukrainska Pravda within Ukraine’s defence forces confirmed four hits on the oil depot’s territory.
The Ukrainian intelligence services pointed out that the attack had caused significant damage to the oil depot, with all four UAVs launched on the Russian facility successfully reaching their targets.
Local Russian social media users are posting videos of a large-scale fire at the oil depot.
У РФ повідомили про атаку безпілотників на Нижегородський НПЗhttps://t.co/O7LGZeKmSC pic.twitter.com/N22aqM9zZx
— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) January 29, 2025
Kovalenko noted that the oil refinery in Kstovo is capable of processing 15 to 17 million tonnes of oil a year, making it the fourth largest in Russia. It produces petrol, diesel, aviation gas and bitumen, making it a critical facility for the Russian military.
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Governor Gleb Nikitin acknowledged the drone attack, though he claimed that drone wreckage had fallen on the territory of a facility in the Kstovo industrial zone.
Russian propagandists assert that the attack targeted the SIBUR-Kstovo facility.
For reference: Kstovo is home to the LUKOIL-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery, with chemical plants and a thermal power plant situated in the adjacent industrial zone.
On the morning of the incident, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that 104 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over Russian territory.
In particular, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed 47 drones were shot down over Kursk Oblast, 27 over Bryansk Oblast, 11 over Smolensk Oblast, seven over Tver Oblast, four over Belgorod Oblast, three over Nizhny Novgorod and Kaluga Oblast and one over each of Rostov and Leningrad oblasts. These numbers are contradicted in the reports provided by local authorities.
Previously: Russian Telegram channels and Gleb Nikitin, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, reported that multiple explosions had rocked Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on the night of 28-29 January, with Russian authorities saying they were caused by a drone attack on an oil refinery in the town of Kstovo.
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