---
title: "Drones Flew 800 km to Kstovo: How a Ukrainian Swarm Bypassed Air Defense and Struck an Oil Refinery"
description: "Ukrainian drones flew over 800 km and struck the Kstovo refinery, bypassing air defense at low altitudes along rivers. A warehouse in Kotovsk was also attacked; UAV types are based on estimates."
date: 2026-08-27T07:48:43.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/how-drones-flew-to-kstovo-air-defense-bypass-tactics
tags: [ukraine-war, drones, npz-kstovo, air-defense, vsu, lukoil]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Drones Flew 800 km to Kstovo: How a Ukrainian Swarm Bypassed Air Defense and Struck an Oil Refinery

![Tactical drone route map: radar and flight path bypassing SA-21 and SA-22 air defense zones on the way to the Kstovo refinery](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/27/kak-drony-dleteli-do-kstovo-marshrut-pvo-taktika/kak-drony-dleteli-do-kstovo-marshrut-pvo-taktika-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The Kstovo refinery (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast) was attacked by drones; a fire broke out at the facility, which has a capacity of ~17 million tonnes per year.
- At the same time, drones struck a Wildberries warehouse in Kotovsk (Lipetsk Oblast).
- According to estimates, the UAVs covered 800+ km, bypassing air defense at ultra-low altitudes along the Oka and Volga rivers.
- The attack reportedly involved 'Lyutyi', FP-1, and decoy targets; the types of aircraft are not officially confirmed.

In the night of August 27, 2026, Ukrainian military drones struck an oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast — a facility with a capacity of around 17 million tonnes per year, part of Lukoil's structure. A fire broke out on the enterprise's territory. At the same time, according to reports from the authorities of Lipetsk Oblast, drones attacked a Wildberries warehouse in Kotovsk.

### Route Bypassing Air Defense

The straight-line distance from the Ukrainian border to Kstovo is over 800 km, and taking maneuvering into account, the actual trajectory exceeded 1000 km. According to analysts' estimates, the aircraft flew at ultra-low altitudes (30–50 m) along river valleys — the Oka and the Volga — which kept them out of the detection range of stationary ground-based radars, while the approach to the target was carried out from eastern and north-eastern azimuths, where the density of air defense systems is minimal.

### UAV Types and Swarm Tactics

The core of the long-range fleet, according to available estimates, includes the heavy strike drone 'Lyutyi' (warhead 50–75 kg, composite fuselage, anti-spoofing protection via CRPA antennas and DSMAC), the long-range aircraft-type UAV FP-1 with a low radar cross-section profile, as well as decoy targets with Luneburg lenses, which reveal the positions of 'Pantsir-S1' and 'Tor-M2' systems and deplete the air defense ammunition stock.

### Contradictory Data

The fact of the attack and the fire at the Kstovo refinery, as well as the strike on the warehouse in Kotovsk, is confirmed by several independent publications. However, the specific types of UAVs used, the exact range, and the details of the route are not verified in open sources: they are based on analytical estimates rather than statements by officials. The plant's capacity (17 million tonnes) is cited in reports on the Lukoil enterprise, but the exact list of damaged facilities and the scale of the damage are not confirmed as of the time of publication.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Drones attacked the Kstovo refinery: what is known about the fire at the plant](https://ura-inform.com/proisshestviya-ru/2026/08/26/drony-atakovali-npz-v-kstovo-chto-izvestno-o-pozhare-na-zavode/) - Подтверждает атаку дронов и пожар на НПЗ в Кстово (дата 26.08.2026).
- [Lukoil's giant on fire: drones attacked a 17-million-tonne refinery near Kstovo](https://glavred.info/war/gigant-lukoyla-v-ogne-drony-atakovali-npz-pod-kstovo-moshchnostyu-17-mln-tonn-10791428.html) - Указывает мощность НПЗ ~17 млн тонн и связь с «Лукойлом».
- [Drones attacked the Kstovo refinery and a Wildberries warehouse in Kotovsk. The head of Lipetsk Oblast reported two ...](https://www.currenttime.tv/a/vsu-ataka-wildberries-kotovsk-npz-kstovo/33839612.html) - Подтверждает параллельную атаку на склад в Котовске (Липецкая область).
- [Drones attacked Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast; a fire broke out near the Kstovo refinery](https://ukranews.com/news/1170991-drony-atakovali-nizhegorodskuyu-oblast-rossii-v-rajone-npz-v-kstovo-vspyhnul-pozhar) - Независимое подтверждение атаки и пожара в районе НПЗ Кстово.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What happened in Kstovo?
**A:** Ukrainian drones struck the Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, and a fire broke out at the facility. A warehouse in Kotovsk was also attacked.

### Q: What distance did the drones cover?
**A:** Straight-line — over 800 km; taking the air defense bypass into account, the actual trajectory exceeded 1000 km (according to analysts' estimates).

### Q: Why didn't air defense intercept the UAVs?
**A:** According to estimates, the drones flew at ultra-low altitudes along river valleys outside radar visibility, using decoy targets and approaching from a poorly defended azimuth.

### Q: What types of drones were used?
**A:** According to analytical estimates — 'Lyutyi', FP-1, and decoy targets; these data are not officially confirmed.