Russian strikes cut power to thousands in Ukraine as drones damage Russian facility

On November 1, Russian strikes plunged hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian households into darkness, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Meanwhile, Russian authorities reported significant damage to an industrial facility in the Nizhny Novgorod region following Ukrainian drone attacks. Despite a six-day local ceasefire nearing its end in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky, fighting continued along the front line, with both sides sustaining long-range air attacks.

Zelenskiy highlighted the intensity of the strikes, stating that Russia was attempting to capitalize on the limited number of ballistic missile interceptors available. Ukraine, in response, struck the Kamensky plant in Russia's Rostov region, reportedly damaging equipment involved in Russian missile production. In Ternopil region, Ukraine's gubernatorial candidate Taras Pastukh stated that Russian attacks had disrupted local power infrastructure.

Moscow did not comment on the reported Ukrainian strike in Rostov. In Nizhny Novgorod, Governor Gleb Nikitin confirmed a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack had caused considerable damage to an industrial site, though he did not disclose the exact location. The region is notable for housing Russia's largest oil refinery, NORSI. Overall, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have downed 235 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight.

In contrast, Ukraine's air force reported downing 371 of 433 long-range drones launched by Russia since Saturday evening. As of Sunday morning, dozens of Russian drones remained airborne, and six drone alerts had been issued in Kyiv since midnight. While Kyiv has not taken responsibility for the Nizhny Novgorod attack, the situation suggests the facility targeted may have been related to the region's oil-refining or fuel-supply operations.

Ukrainian officials have called for a full ceasefire on energy targets, but Russia has remained uncooperative. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the energy sector, did not mention the Nizhny Novgorod strike in an interview with state TV, instead emphasizing that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries were exacerbating global fuel market imbalances and impacting fuel prices.