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Ukraine Strikes Russia's Fourth-Largest Oil Refinery, Damaging Key Processing Unit
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Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Kstovo, Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region, overnight on July 2, targeting one of the country's largest refining facilities, Ukraine's General Staff confirmed.
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“Hits on the facility were recorded, followed by a fire on the refinery's territory,” the military said.
Preliminary information indicates that the attack damaged the AVT-6 primary crude oil processing unit. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
— Exilenova+ (@Exilenova_plus) July 2, 2026
Earlier, the Telegram channel Exilenova+ published videos and photographs from the scene showing flames and thick black smoke rising above the refinery's industrial area.
Kstovo oil refinery was attacked pic.twitter.com/8SHT5aR64Y
— Exilenova+ (@Exilenova_plus) July 2, 2026
About Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery
Russia's Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery is one of the country's largest gasoline producers and the fourth-largest oil refinery by crude processing capacity.
Located in Kstovo, the facility has a design processing capacity of approximately 17 million metric tons of crude oil annually. Before repeated Ukrainian drone strikes, it produced around 5 million metric tons of gasoline, more than 5 million metric tons of diesel fuel, about 2 million metric tons of fuel oil, and roughly 500,000 metric tons of bitumen each year.
In total, the refinery manufactures more than 50 types of petroleum products.
The refinery also produces aviation fuel, lubricants, and other petroleum products, including fuel supplies that support the Russian military.
The attack comes amid Ukraine's broader strategy to disrupt Russia's military logistics, command-and-control capabilities, drone coordination infrastructure, and supply routes in both occupied Ukrainian territories and within Russia itself.
According to official statements, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorised a 40-day strategic operation led by the Security Service of Ukraine to increase pressure on Moscow and undermine its ability to continue the war.
The latest strike follows an earlier Ukrainian attack on the same facility that temporarily disrupted production. On June 25, Reuters, citing two industry sources, reported that Russia's Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery had suspended activity after being hit by a Ukrainian drone.
The sources said the attack damaged the refinery's primary crude distillation unit, CDU-5, which processes around 12,000 metric tons of crude oil per day—roughly one-quarter of the plant's total refining capacity.
They added that the refinery could potentially resume partial operations in the near term by utilising its remaining processing units.
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