Ukrainian drones reportedly attacked the Novocherkassk State District Power Plant (DRES) in Russia’s Rostov Oblast early Monday, Jan. 12.
The DRES is the largest thermal power facility in the region.
Videos showing a fire at the plant were published by the Telegram channels Supernova+ and Exilenova+. According to reports, power outages were recorded across the region following the attack.
Located in Novocherkassk, about 53 kilometers (33 miles) from Rostov-on-Don, the Novocherkassk power plant has been in operation since 1965. The facility, which houses nine power units, plays a key role in the Rostov energy system alongside the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
Novocherkassk DRES has an installed electrical capacity of approximately 2,250 megawatts (MW). Its primary fuel is coal, with natural gas used as backup and auxiliary fuel.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts from the Astra Telegram channel also confirmed that a regional power plant in Novocherkassk was hit. Local residents reported on Monday morning that emergency services had arrived at the site to extinguish the fire.
According to Astra’s OSINT analyst, the fire may have affected the plant’s open distribution equipment – the infrastructure node through which electricity from the power plant is fed into the regional power system.
Rostov Oblast Governor Yuriy Slyusar said drones had been intercepted in five districts of the region since Sunday evening.
“There are no casualties among the people. Information about the consequences on the ground is being clarified,” he wrote.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Moscow time, air defense systems destroyed six Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Rostov Oblast.
Earlier, at 6:33 a.m., the ministry reported that 13 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted overnight, including four over Rostov Oblast.
Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
According to military outlet Militarniy, Ukraine has previously targeted the Novocherkassk power plant. The most recent strike occurred in July 2025, when a drone hit the plant’s main building, causing minor damage.
The affected section is located near a railway line used by freight trains.
Another strike was recorded in 2024, when a fire broke out at the plant early on March 25, as then-regional governor Vasily Golubev confirmed at the time.
That incident triggered the automatic shutdown of 330-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage lines – Tikhoretskaya and Rostovskaya – temporarily disrupting power supplies to consumers.
Unofficial reports from the Baza Telegram channel suggested that the plant was attacked by multiple drones.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot in Russia’s Volgograd region and several military targets in occupied territories, as per Ukraine’s General Staff report.
Ukrainian units struck the Zhutovsk oil depot in Volgograd’s Oktyabrsky district, a facility that supplies fuel to Russian forces. The extent of the damage is being assessed.
Earlier, Volgograd Region Governor Andrey Bocharov said a fire broke out at an oil depot after a drone fell and noted that nearby residents could be evacuated, with a temporary shelter prepared at Oktyabrskaya School No. 2.
Russian Telegram channels also reported drone and missile alerts in the Krasnodar region, with explosions heard, though Ukraine’s General Staff did not confirm those claims.
The General Staff additionally reported strikes on a Russian drone depot belonging to the 19th Motorized Rifle Division in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, as well as a drone control point in the Pokrovsk area of the Donetsk region.