Russia’s 4th Largest Refinery Is Burning

It has been a bad week for Russian refineries. Just the other day there was an accident at a Russian/Chinese joint facility in eastern Russia. The facility, when complete, was intended to produce tons of plastics. But despite being much closer to Japan than to Ukraine, the site suffered an explosion which killed a number of Chinese workers.

At least seven workers were killed and dozens of others were injured after a fire broke out at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) in Russia’s Far East, the company said Tuesday.

Located near the Amur region town of Svobodny, AGCC is a $10 billion joint venture between Russian petrochemical giant Sibur and China’s state-owned oil and gas company Sinopec. Designed to become one of the world’s largest polymer manufacturing facilities, the complex was undergoing final testing ahead of its planned launch in early 2027.

In a statement on Tuesday, AGCC said the fire broke out in a support section of a pyrolysis unit. The company said primary equipment was not damaged. 

Video makes this look like a pretty major explosion.

Dramatic footage shows workers running from the Amur Gas Chemical Complex in Russia’s Far East after a fire broke out.

Seven people were killed, including six Chinese nationals, nine Chinese workers remain missing and 152 people were treated for injuries.

Russian investigators… pic.twitter.com/kOCC2JBbSg

— APT News (@APT__News) August 26, 2026

It’s unlikely Ukrainian drones can reach this far. Was this some sort of sabotage or just an industrial accident? Either way I think the grand opening of this facility has been put back several months.

Things don’t seem to he going well this afternoon for Russia’s new $11 billion Amur Gas Chemical Complex
after massive explosions.

Located in Russia’s far-east, af full 6000km distance from Ukraine, and with no drones in site (yet), this facility was about to go into full… pic.twitter.com/KUvVN6xweW

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) August 25, 2026

Amur, gas and chemical complex pic.twitter.com/jJ8HC3UecS

— Chris_10 (@adi_yung) August 26, 2026

And that brings us to today when an even worse fire has engulfed Russia’s 4th largest oil and gas refinery. This one is located a couple hundred miles east of Moscow. This one refinery produces about 11 percent of Russia’s gasoline.

🔥🛢️Russia’s LUKOIL Nizhny Novgorod refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, is heavily burning after an overnight drone attack.

The Kstovo refinery is one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, with a processing capacity of about 17 million tonnes of crude oil per year. It is… pic.twitter.com/ER9QUFL3HU

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) August 26, 2026

An oil refinery in Kstovo, Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, was reportedly attacked by drones.

Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez is LUKOIL’s largest refinery, ranking fourth in Russia by capacity and second in gasoline production.

The plant can process around 15 million tons of crude… pic.twitter.com/q18aEJwyTm

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 26, 2026

This is apparently the fifth time this refinery has been hit this year. Clearly, Russia knows this site is a target. But they can’t stop all the drones coming their way.

NORSI, or the Lukoil-Nizhegorodorgsintez refinery, is Russia’s fourth-largest oil refinery and second-largest gasoline producer, processing around 15-17 million metric tons of crude annually. It also produces bitumen, as well as diesel and aviation fuel used to support Russian forces.

Ukraine has struck the refinery repeatedly in 2026, including attacks on April 5, May 20, June 24, and July 2. Some of those strikes forced production units offline.

The cumulative impact of these attacks is that Moscow has no gasoline once again.

“There’s no gasoline in Moscow… Moscow has no gasoline…”

Russia, a ‘gas station country,’ is gradually turning into a country without gasoline or autogas. https://t.co/jIpgXVIGYe pic.twitter.com/RgyAkCFSOU

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 25, 2026

There’s just no gas available.

“There’s no gasoline anywhere. Absolutely none.”

Our ‘Russian correspondent’ reports on the gasoline situation along the Rostov–Stavropol highway.

Benzina net! 😁 pic.twitter.com/6JkeEr0l7D

— Natalka (@NatalkaKyiv) August 26, 2026

The long lines have returned. This is in southern Russia, east of Crimea.

Multi-day waits for gasoline now in Russia’s city of Rostov.

All Russians’ pining for all the “opportunity” of the 1990’s are now beginning to live the dream. pic.twitter.com/DSqNB87JYD

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) August 26, 2026

Russians spending all day looking for gas know better than to complain. You can get arrested for that.

“I think we probably don’t have enough money for the SMO these days, so they need gasoline to get more expensive” – residents of Russia about the fuel crisis.

Russia’s second fuel crisis keeps worsening despite gasoline imports from India.

According to Reuters, shortages have… pic.twitter.com/eQDXSDDDDR

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 26, 2026

Finally, Ukraine hasn’t forgotten about Wildberries, the Russian version of Amazon. This morning another large warehouse was set on fire.

The Wildberries logistics hub in Kotovsk, Tambov Oblast, is heavily burning after another Ukrainian drone attack overnight. Russian authorities say the fire has already spread across around 40,000 m² of the 108,000 m² complex.

Kotovsk was also one of the very first Wildberries… pic.twitter.com/P24k0oz1yy

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) August 26, 2026

The warehouse was completely destroyed.

The governor of Russia’s Tambov Oblast says the Wildberries logistics hub in Kotovsk has been completely destroyed by the massive fire following last night’s drone attack.

The blaze engulfed more than 100,000 m² of the 108,000 m² complex. According to the governor, 19 drones… https://t.co/qGooZ5kvkB pic.twitter.com/JzRVY24Jcf

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) August 26, 2026

The remarkable thing here is it’s only Wednesday. What else will be burning before the week is over?

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