Kstovo refinery

The Kstovo refinery, formally operated as Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez, is one of Russia's largest petroleum refineries, located in the city of Kstovo in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast approximately 400 km east of Moscow. It processes an estimated 17-18 million tonnes of crude oil per year. Its Volga River location enables barge transport of both crude inputs and refined outputs, reducing dependence on pipeline flows from western Siberia.

By May 2026, Reuters reported that Ukrainian drone strikes had halted or reduced operations at nearly all major central Russian refineries, including Kirishi, Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Syzran, and Kstovo, cutting approximately 25% of Russia's total refining capacity, with gasoline output down 30% and diesel down 25%. The cumulative damage accelerated through June 2026: Moscow's Kapotnya refinery was shut on 18 June, and by 23 June at least 15 Russian regions had imposed petrol sales restrictions, with queues spreading from occupied Crimea into Russia proper including Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and Voronezh. Deputy PM Alexander Novak told Putin the fuel situation was 'challenging but under control.'

Carnegie analyst Sergey Vakulenko highlighted that cumulative strike damage across Russia's refining network forces operational adaptations that structurally compress margins and accelerate equipment degradation, with consequences persisting well beyond any individual strike event. Lukoil, Kstovo's parent, has faced intensifying sanctions pressure since 2022, and the refinery's production disruptions compound the fiscal damage visible in Russia's Q1 2026 budget deficit figures.