Central Russia Hit by Massive Drone Strike on Power, Refinery Sites

A wave of drone attacks struck several major energy facilities deep inside Russia, including a thermal power plant in Oryol, a high-voltage substation near Vladimir, and the Slavneft-Yaroslavl oil refinery, one of the country’s largest, according to the footage shared by the Telegram channel Exilenova+ on October 31.

According to Oryol regional governor Andrei Klychkov, the city’s main thermal power station was hit overnight. The strike reportedly damaged an open-air switchgear unit, cutting power across parts of the city. Local residents captured the moment of the explosion on video.

“As a result of a drone being shot down, debris fell on the territory of the Oryol TPP, causing damage to power-supply equipment,” Klychkov said, adding that emergency crews had switched the grid to backup lines and begun repair work.

The Oryol thermal power plant, the region’s largest source of electricity and heat, has an installed capacity of 330 megawatts.

Open switchgear systems, like the one reportedly hit, are key nodes where electricity is transferred from generators to high-voltage transmission lines.

Another major strike targeted the Vladimirskaya 750-kV substation in the settlement of Energetik, near the city of Vladimir, roughly 600 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

The facility caught fire following the attack, with large plumes of smoke visible in eyewitness videos.

The substation is a key part of Russia’s central power grid, transmitting electricity from nuclear and thermal power plants—including those in Smolensk, Kostroma, and Ryazan—toward Moscow and other central regions. It plays a critical role in balancing the national grid.

“Russia keeps attacking Ukraine’s energy system but cannot protect its own,” wrote Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation. “The mirror works.”

In Yaroslavl, about 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, a major fire broke out at the Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez refinery following an apparent drone strike. NASA’s FIRMS satellite data later confirmed active fire signatures in the area.

The refinery, one of Russia’s five largest, can process up to 15 million tons of crude oil per year and supplies fuel to major industrial facilities, airports, the Northern Railway Administration, and the country’s defense industry.

Earlier, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces carried out precision drone strikes on a Russian fuel storage site and oil facility located on occupied territory in Ukraine’s Luhansk region.

The operation was conducted overnight and targeted logistical infrastructure used to supply Russian front-line units. Ukrainian drones struck the facilities at a moment when the fuel tanks were fully loaded, triggering a series of explosions and large-scale fires.

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