Ukraine and Russia traded another huge wave of drones overnight into Sunday, November 15: Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 132 attack drones, of which air defences shot down or jammed 106 by 08:00, while Ukrainian drones reached deep into Russia and a large fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, according to the Kyiv Independent and local reports.
Source: Ukrainian Air Force via Ukrinform (Europe Says)
The Russian attack began at 18:00 on Saturday, November 14, the Air Force said on Telegram, as reported by Ukrinform. The 132 drones included Shahed attack drones — 78 of them jet-powered — along with Gerbera drones and Parody-type decoys. They were launched from the Russian cities of Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and from Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea and occupied Donetsk, the Air Force said. The attack was repelled by Ukrainian aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic-warfare and unmanned-systems units, and mobile fire groups.
Source: Ukrainian Air Force via Ukrinform (Europe Says)
Hits across Ukraine, six hurt in Zaporizhzhia
Despite the interceptions, drone hits were recorded at 20 locations, the Air Force said. Six people were injured in Zaporizhzhia, including a two-year-old child, according to Ukrainian reports summarised in a Kyiv desk note on Sunday morning. The overnight barrage followed a day on Saturday in which Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least seven people and injured 80, with Zaporizhzhia the worst hit.
Source: Ukraine desk note, Nov 15, 2026
Fire at one of Russia's largest petrochemical complexes
The same night, drones hit Nizhnekamsk in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan and a large fire broke out in the city's industrial zone, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing local residents and Ukrainian monitoring channels. The Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported an attack on an industrial facility, likely the Nizhnekamskneftekhim petrochemical complex owned by the Russian chemicals producer SIBUR — one of Europe's largest petrochemical plants. Nizhnekamsk's mayor, Radmir Belyaev, confirmed damage in the industrial zone, according to the Kyiv Post. Three people were injured, the regional health ministry said, according to local media reports on Sunday, although the authority gave no details of which facility was hit and the extent of the damage remained unclear.
Source: Kyiv Independent via Europe Says
In Taganrog, in Russia's southern Rostov region, an electrical substation was hit in a separate attack, according to authorities cited in local reports, and Russian officials said a bridge and two substations were damaged there. Russia's Defence Ministry claimed its air defences shot down and intercepted 533 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over 14 regions overnight — a figure Kyiv has not confirmed and which cannot be independently verified. The Kyiv Independent also noted there was no immediate official Ukrainian claim of responsibility for the Tatarstan attack and no independent confirmation of casualties in its first report.
Source: Russian Defence Ministry via TopWar
What is solid
- Ukraine's Air Force reported 132 Russian drones launched from 18:00 on Nov 14 and 106 neutralised by 08:00, with hits at 20 locations
- A large fire was reported in Nizhnekamsk's industrial zone overnight, and the city's mayor confirmed industrial-zone damage
- Both capitals reported large-scale overnight drone activity
What is only claimed
- Russia's claim of 533 Ukrainian drones intercepted comes from its Defence Ministry alone and is not independently verified
- Whether the Nizhnekamskneftekhim plant itself was the direct target, and the full extent of damage, remained unconfirmed on Sunday morning
- Casualty figures on both sides come from the respective authorities and monitoring channels
F-16s, Patriot missiles and the ammunition race
The nightly drone war is also a supply war. Ukraine's Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets destroy the largest share of Russia's jet-powered drones, and that 20mm ammunition for the jets is a critical resource; Kyiv has asked Canada to expedite delivery of that ammunition, and Canada is helping fund PAC-3 Patriot missiles through the JUMPSTART mechanism, according to the Defence Ministry, as reported by UNN. Ukraine has also called on partners to buy more Ukrainian-made drones for combat and logistics.
Source: Ukraine Defence Ministry via UNN (Europe Says)
The exchange came two nights after Ukraine fired one of the largest drone waves of the war at Russia — Moscow claimed nearly 1,200 drones on the night of November 12-13 — and while trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States, held in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, have yet to produce agreement on territory or security guarantees. With winter approaching, both sides are striking energy and industrial targets: Russia at Ukrainian power and cities, Ukraine at the refineries and petrochemical plants that fund and fuel Moscow's war.
The overnight exchange follows Ukraine's massive drone wave against Russia on the night of November 12-13 and Russia's deadly day of strikes on Zaporizhzhia on Saturday. Read: Ukraine's 1,198-drone wave at Russia