A massive fire broke out at a Lukoil gas processing plant in southern Russia after a drone attack overnight on Oct. 9, local officials and media reported.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 19 drones, including nine over the Volgograd region – which lies about 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Despite those claims, the Lukoil-Korobkovsky gas processing plant in the city of Kotovo caught fire, according to local Telegram channels and Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov.
Bocharov said the drone attack damaged several boiler houses and caused fires at energy facilities but did not mention the gas plant itself.
The independent Telegram channel Astra, citing local residents, said the blaze specifically hit the Lukoil-Korobkovsky facility. Satellite data from NASA’s FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) confirmed fire activity at the site.
The Korobkovsky plant is the largest gas processor in Russia’s Southern Federal District, with a capacity of 450 million cubic meters per year. Much of its output, including liquefied gases and stabilized gasoline, is exported abroad.
FIRMS also detected another fire near the Yefimovka oil pumping station, part of Transneft–Privolga’s infrastructure, Astra reported.
The strikes came days after Moscow reported shooting down 251 drones in one of Kyiv’s largest retaliatory attacks on Monday, Oct. 6, which left two people dead.
That night, Ukraine targeted Russian-occupied Crimea and several regions across Russia, striking energy infrastructure and military sites, according to local reports and officials.
The almost daily drone assaults have caused fuel shortages in several Russian regions and driven up gasoline prices. Ukraine says its goal is to choke off the energy revenues that help finance Russia’s war effort.
On Wednesday, a fourth Russian region imposed restrictions on gasoline sales per customer, as fuel shortages continue to spread across the country.
Sales limits already introduced in annexed Crimea and the Chelyabinsk region have now reached the Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions. For instance, the N-1 gas station chain in Tyumen has capped sales at 30 liters of 92- or 95-octane gasoline per customer.
According to the latest assessment, Ukrainian drone attacks have crippled nearly 40% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, triggering the country’s worst fuel shortage in decades.
As of Sept. 28, 38% of primary refining capacity – equal to 338,000 tons per day – was offline, with gasoline output falling by 1 million tons, leaving the domestic market short by roughly 20% of demand.