Ukraine's Grid Under Strain: Russia Claims Drone Success Amid Fuel Disruptions

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Sunday that Russian overnight strikes hit power infrastructure in four Ukrainian regions. He said the attacks left hundreds of thousands of households without electricity. Zelensky noted on Telegram that the intensity of the strikes was very high. He argued that Russia was trying to exploit Ukraine's deficit of ballistic missile interceptors.

In response, Ukrainian forces targeted the Kamensky plant in Russia's Rostov region. Zelensky identified the site as a manufacturer of Russian missiles. The Moscow government did not immediately comment on the Rostov attack. However, officials in the Nizhny Novgorod region reported major damage to an industrial facility following a large-scale Ukrainian drone assault.

Gleb Nikitin, the governor of Nizhny Novgorod, said the drone attack caused significant damage. He did not name the specific facility that was hit. The region is home to the NORSI oil refinery, which is one of the largest in Russia. The regional government said it was taking steps to ensure gas stations received fuel. Authorities urged drivers to buy fuel only as needed and to avoid panic buying, according to Interfax.

The warning about fuel supplies suggests the damaged site is linked to oil refining or distribution. Kyiv has not yet claimed responsibility for the Nizhny Novgorod strike. On Friday, Russia accused Ukraine of resuming strikes on its oil refineries. Moscow claimed that Kyiv ignored a request from US President Donald Trump to halt such attacks. Trump has linked these strikes to rising diesel costs before next week's US midterm elections.

Ukraine maintains that it supports a full ceasefire on energy targets, including its own power grid. It says Moscow is unwilling to agree to such a pause. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the energy sector, spoke on state TV channel Vesti on Sunday. He did not mention the Nizhny Novgorod strike directly. Novak stated that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries were adding to global fuel market imbalances and affecting prices.

Russian authorities also provided updated figures on air defenses. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces downed 235 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight. Ukraine's air force reported shooting down 371 of 433 long-range drones launched by Russia since Saturday evening. The air force said dozens of Russian drones were still in the air as of Sunday morning. Six separate drone alerts had been issued in Kyiv since midnight. A six-day local ceasefire held its final day around the town of Oleshky, but fighting continued elsewhere along the front line.