UKRAINE blitzed one of Vladimir Putin’s biggest oil plants overnight in the latest humiliating blow for the dictator.

It came amid a major drone attack against a number of Russian oil and power facilities.

The Kremlin’s fourth-largest oil refinery exploded into flames after being blasted.

Spectacular footage showed the Lukoil-owned Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez ablaze in Nizhny Novgorod region after it was hit by two long-distance military drones from Ukraine. 

Russia’s defence ministry said 104 drones were involved in raids across the west, 11 of which were destroyed over the Smolensk region.

A major nuclear power plant was also among the targets – with air defence systems destroying a drone that attempted to hit Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant near Desnogorsk.

Smolensk region governor Vasily Anokhin said: “One of the drones was shot down during an attempt to attack a nuclear power facility.”

Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant is a key supplier of electricity to western Russia, and the same type as the notorious Chernobyl atomic station.

Debris from a drone “fell in the area of the Smolensk NPP”, pro-Kremlin Shot online media outlet reported.

Anokhin said the power plant – which has three reactors capable of generating 3,000 MW electricity – is operating normally. 

The oil refinery in Kstovo is the latest to be hit in a concerted campaign by Ukraine to damage Putin’s oil infrastructure.

Residents heard the buzzing of drones followed by huge explosions.

Governor Gleb Nikitin said: “Firefighters are currently working to extinguish the fire, according to preliminary data, there are no casualties.”

The enterprise produces more than 50 types of commercial petroleum products, including high-quality automobile, aviation and diesel fuels.

It is a key supplier to the Russian military machine and produces some 15 million tons of crude oil per year – almost 5.8 per cent of all oil refining in Russia.

The destruction follows the suspension of work at Ryazan Oil Refinery after two Ukrainian drone strikes in the past week.

In total, Russian air defences destroyed drones over nine regions, nearly half of them over Kursk, where Russian forces are fighting to drive out Ukrainian troops that have occupied several villages.

It comes days after people fled as a huge fireball explosion ripped through another major Russian oil refinery.

Ukrainian forces last week blasted the Rostneft Oil Refinery in Ryazan with long-range kamikaze drones.

Towering flames and huge plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the site in footage shared on social media.

People ran from the scene as the inferno raged.

At least 20 drones targeted the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, overnight – striking the depot and a power station.