A major Ukrainian drone strike on Thursday afternoon, June 25, 2026, forced the shutdown of the NORSI refinery—the fourth-largest in Russia and the country’s second-largest gasoline producer—according to Russian authorities. Industry sources told reporters the suspension is likely to worsen existing nationwide fuel shortages.
Strategic Target in Kstovo
The attack hit the CDU-5 crude distillation unit at the Lukoil-owned NORSI facility in Kstovo, located in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast—more than 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The damaged unit processes up to 12,000 metric tons of crude oil per day, accounting for roughly a quarter of the refinery’s total capacity.
NORSI—formally known as Lukoil-Nizhny Novgorodnefteorgsintez—is a frequent target of Ukrainian long-range UAV operations aimed at degrading Russia’s energy infrastructure. Kyiv has stated that such strikes are intended to undermine a key revenue stream funding Russia’s war effort—and to bring the consequences of the conflict closer to Russian civilians.
Official Responses and Fallout
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the attack, calling it an attempt to sow division among the domestic population by targeting non-military infrastructure. Meanwhile, regional Governor Gleb Nikitin confirmed via Telegram that an industrial facility in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast sustained damage from falling drone debris and that two people were killed. He did not name the site, though multiple reports point to NORSI.
Lukoil has not responded to requests for comment. Separately, the Saint Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) suspended diesel and gasoline sales from NORSI effective Wednesday, June 24.
Cascading Energy Disruptions
The ripple effects extended beyond central Russia. In Crimea—a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014—Moscow-appointed head Sergei Aksyonov announced scheduled electricity blackouts across the entire region due to damage inflicted on energy infrastructure by recent Ukrainian strikes. He described the outages as ‘targeted,’ based on real-time grid needs, and assured residents that food supplies and essential medicines remain secure.