A large gas processing plant in Russia’s Orenburg region came under a reported drone attack overnight, with explosions, fires, and airport shutdowns recorded across the area.
Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel Exilenova+ said multiple fires were recorded at the industrial site. Satellite data, according to the channel, showed several areas burning at the plant following the explosions.
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The Orenburg region is located in southern Russia and borders Kazakhstan to the south.
Local residents reported at least three impacts in the industrial zone.
Authorities temporarily suspended operations at Orenburg airport, with similar restrictions introduced in Orsk and Yasnoye, halting air traffic for security reasons.
The governor of Orenburg region, Yevgeny Solntsev, said on Telegram that “a massive drone attack on our region was organized by the criminal regime of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).”
He added that several drones were shot down over an industrial facility, urged residents to remain calm, and said no casualties had been reported. He also warned that sharing drone-related photos and videos is prohibited.
The Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, built on the Orenburg gas condensate field, is described by Russian sources as the “largest gas chemical complex in the world.”
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Located about 1,500 km (932 miles) from the Ukrainian border, it is a key Gazprom facility involved in gas purification, processing, and helium production. It is also the only producer of natural odorants in Russia.
The plant has a capacity of around 37.5 billion cubic meters (1.3 trillion cubic feet) of gas per year and is part of the KazRosGaz project, processing gas from Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak field.
The facility was previously targeted in October of 2025, when a fire broke out and Gazprom reported an emergency disruption of gas intake.
In May 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had struck Russian gas infrastructure in the Orenburg region.
Massive drone raid across Russia
Separately, Russian outlet Astra reported a fire in a private house in the Nizhny Novgorod region about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the Electrokabel PN plant after another reported drone attack.
According to the company’s website, it is “a modern, dynamically developing enterprise in the cable industry” with a “powerful fleet of technological equipment” for producing a wide range of cable and wire products.
The nearby refinery Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez in Kstovo was also mentioned by local residents as a possible target.
Regional governor Gleb Nikitin said two people were killed and two injured in a drone attack on an industrial facility, adding that 23 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were shot down and debris damaged buildings and vehicles. He did not specify which facility was hit, adding that there was no critical damage to the industrial infrastructure.
Russia’s defense ministry said 323 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight over multiple regions, including Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Crimea, and the Black Sea. Ukraine has not commented on the reports.
Meanwhile, occupied Sevastopol was left without electricity after an overnight drone attack on energy infrastructure in Crimea, Moscow-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Wednesday.
Razvozhayev revealed the blackout was caused by a strike on energy facilities.
“As a result of the enemy attack on our energy infrastructure, the city temporarily remained without electricity,” he wrote.
Ukrainian monitoring channels reported explosions across Crimea during the night. The Telegram channel Krymsky Veter said the Balaklava thermal power plant in Sevastopol was a key target, though the extent of damage remains unclear.
Explosions were also reported in Bakhchysarai, Kerch, and near Mount Ai-Petri, where a Russian radar site is located.
The blackout followed earlier “preventive” rolling power cuts announced by occupation authorities. Preliminary reports suggested that around half of Crimea was affected.
The disruption comes after repeated strikes on energy and fuel infrastructure across the peninsula, including reported hits on power stations and substations. Fuel sales to civilians remain suspended in occupied Crimea.
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