---
title: "Ukrainian General Staff Confirms Shutdown of Two Major Russian Refineries: Kstovo and Ust-Luga"
description: "The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed the shutdown of the \"LUKOIL-Nizhnevoltnefteorgsintez\" refinery in Kstovo following the August 26 strike, and of the \"NOVATEK-Ust-Luga\" complex following the September 1 attack. According to Ukrainian military sources, both facilities supply the needs of the Russian armed forces."
date: 2026-09-04T11:20:04.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukrainian-general-staff-confirms-shutdown-of-kstovo-and-ust-luga-refineries
tags: [oil-refinery, kstovo, ust-luga, ukraine-russia-war, energy-infrastructure, military-strike, novatek, lukoil]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukrainian General Staff Confirms Shutdown of Two Major Russian Refineries: Kstovo and Ust-Luga

![Fire at a Russian oil refinery: flames and a column of black smoke rising from a distillation tower at the Kstovo or Ust-Luga refinery after a strike](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/04/genshtab-vsu-podtverdil-ostanovku-npz-kstovo-i-ust-luga/genshtab-vsu-podtverdil-ostanovku-npz-kstovo-i-ust-luga-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed the shutdown of the Kstovo refinery (August 26 strike) and the "NOVATEK-Ust-Luga" complex (September 1 strike)
- The strike on Ust-Luga hit the pipelines, the gas condensate processing unit, and two columns of the hydrocracking unit; oil spills covering a total area of 450 sq. m were recorded
- The Kstovo refinery ranks in the top 5 largest in Russia and was also hit in July 2026
- Both facilities, according to the General Staff, are involved in supplying the needs of the Russian armed forces

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, following an analysis of additional data, has confirmed the shutdown of two major Russian oil refining facilities. These are the "LUKOIL-Nizhnevoltnefteorgsintez" refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, and the "NOVATEK-Ust-Luga" complex in the settlement of Slobodka, Leningrad Oblast. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the operational command of the Ukrainian General Staff. The confirmation came several days after the strikes themselves, which is typical for the procedure of verifying attack results based on intelligence and monitoring data.

### Strike on Kstovo: Top-5 Russian Refinery Halted

The "LUKOIL-Nizhnevoltnefteorgsintez" facility in Kstovo was hit on August 26. According to the General Staff, it was after this strike that the plant ceased operations. The Kstovo refinery ranks among the five largest oil refining enterprises in Russia and, according to Ukrainian military sources, is involved in supplying the needs of the Russian armed forces. This is not the first strike on this facility: as early as July 2026, the Ukrainian forces hit the primary oil processing unit at this plant, with the distance from the border to the target being approximately 800 kilometers. The regularity of attacks on Kstovo indicates that the facility is regarded by the Ukrainian side as a priority target within the campaign to weaken Russia's energy potential.

### "NOVATEK-Ust-Luga": Oil Spill and Hydrocracking Damage

The shutdown of the "NOVATEK-Ust-Luga" complex in the settlement of Slobodka, Leningrad Oblast, has been confirmed following the strike of September 1. According to General Staff data, the attack hit the pipelines between the oil delivery pump station and the storage tanks, resulting in an oil product spill covering an area of 200 square meters. The primary gas condensate processing unit and two columns of the hydrocracking unit were also hit. In addition, a burning pipeline in the tank farm was recorded, with an oil product spill covering an area of 250 square meters. The cumulative damage to the infrastructure, according to Ukrainian military estimates, led to a complete shutdown of the facility.

### Strategic Context: Energy as a Target

Both hit facilities, as emphasized by the Ukrainian General Staff, are involved in supplying the needs of the Russian armed forces. This confirms the logic of the strike campaign against oil refining infrastructure that Ukraine has been conducting throughout the conflict. The simultaneous shutdown of the refineries in Kstovo and Ust-Luga reduces Russia's refining capacity in two different regions — the Volga and North-Western Federal Districts — complicating logistics and the redistribution of oil products. The Kstovo plant, being one of the largest in the country, processes a significant volume of crude oil, while the Ust-Luga complex plays a key role in the export and processing of gas condensate in the northwest of the country.

### Timeline and Verification

The strike on the Kstovo refinery was carried out on August 26, and on "NOVATEK-Ust-Luga" on September 1. The official confirmation of the shutdowns by the Ukrainian General Staff came on September 3–4, which corresponds to the standard procedure of analyzing additional intelligence data. Earlier, in July, a strike had already been delivered on Kstovo's primary oil processing unit. Thus, by the beginning of September 2026, the Kstovo refinery had been subjected to at least two confirmed attacks in three months, indicating the systematic nature of the strikes on this facility.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Refineries in Kstovo and Ust-Luga Shut Down After Ukrainian Strikes](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/npz-kstovo-ta-ust-luzi-zupinilisya-pislya-1788520610.html) - Основной источник. РБК-Украина со ссылкой на Генштаб ВСУ подтверждает остановку обоих предприятий, приводит даты ударов (26.08 и 01.09) и детали повреждений.
- [Volga Region: The Price of War. Shutdown of the Kstovo Refinery, Strike on a Tu-95 in Engels, and Kidnappings in Penza](https://www.svoboda.org/a/povolzhje-tsena-voyny-ostanovka-npz-v-kstovo-udar-po-tu-95-v-engeljse-i-pohischeniya-lyudey-v-penze/33843868.html) - Радио Свобода подтверждает остановку НПЗ в Кстово в контексте более широкого обзора событий в Поволжье. Дополнительный контекст об ударе по Ту-95 в Энгельсе.
- [Four Precise Strikes: General Staff Confirms Attack on Refinery, UAV Warehouse, and Key Bridge](https://glavred.info/war/chetyre-tochnyh-udara-genshtab-podtverdil-ataku-na-npz-sklad-bpla-i-vazhnyy-most-10777361.html) - Главред подтверждает данные Генштаба об атаке на НПЗ, добавляет контекст о других целях (склад БПЛА, мост).
- [Refineries in Kstovo and Ust-Luga Shut Down After Ukrainian Strikes](https://charter97.org/ru/news/2026/9/4/697271/) - Charter97 (белорусское издание) переподает информацию об остановке обоих предприятий, подтверждая факт из первоисточника.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Which specific facilities were shut down?
**A:** According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the "LUKOIL-Nizhnevoltnefteorgsintez" refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (August 26 strike), and the "NOVATEK-Ust-Luga" complex in the settlement of Slobodka, Leningrad Oblast (September 1 strike), were shut down.

### Q: What damage was recorded at "NOVATEK-Ust-Luga"?
**A:** The pipelines between the pump station and the tanks were hit (200 sq. m spill), along with the primary gas condensate processing unit, two columns of the hydrocracking unit, and a pipeline in the tank farm (250 sq. m spill).

### Q: Is this the first strike on the Kstovo refinery?
**A:** No. As early as July 2026, a strike was delivered on the Kstovo refinery's primary oil processing unit. The facility regularly becomes a target of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

### Q: What is the strategic significance of these facilities?
**A:** According to the Ukrainian General Staff, both facilities are involved in supplying the needs of the Russian armed forces. The Kstovo refinery ranks in the top 5 largest in Russia, while the Ust-Luga complex plays a key role in gas condensate processing in the northwest of the country.