Second Drone Strike in Weeks Ignites Major Fire at Oryol’s Key Power Plant

Drones struck the Orlovskaya combined heat and power plant in the Russian city of Oryol for the second time in recent weeks late on November 16, according to Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi and Russian media reports on November 17.

Militarnyi reported air-raid alerts in Oryol region after 19:00 local time, followed by at least two loud explosions in the city and renewed warnings before further blasts, with videos circulating online showing flames and a large column of dark smoke rising from an industrial area believed to be the territory of the power plant.

Russian news site Obozrevatel, citing regional Telegram channels including Supernova+, said messages from residents described repeated detonations, visible fire in the area of the plant, and vibrations from the shock waves in several districts, while emergency services were reported to be working at the scene and there was no immediate official information on casualties or the scale of damage.

The latest incident follows a series of attacks on the plant and the surrounding region this autumn: on the night of October 31, the Ukrainian Navy said it used Neptune cruise missiles against targets in Russia’s Bryansk and Oryol regions, including the Orlovskaya plant and the Novobryansk substation that supply power to defense-related enterprises, while Russian officials acknowledged damage at the site and blamed falling debris from intercepted drones.

Open-source data describe the Orlovskaya plant as the largest source of electricity and district heating in the Orel region, underscoring the strategic impact of repeated strikes on the facility as Russia’s border regions face continued drone attacks on energy infrastructure.

Earlier, it was reported that Oryol’s main thermal power plant was struck during a wave of drone attacks deep inside Russia, which included hits on the region’s largest source of electricity and heat.

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