Drones Strike Russia's Second-Largest Oil Refinery

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) According to Ukrinform, this was reported by ASTRA.

An OSINT analysis by the media outlet of video footage from the town of Kirishi confirmed that the local oil refinery was on fire. The facility's official name is Kirishinefteorgsintez Production Association LLC. It is located approximately 100 km southeast of St. Petersburg.

Local residents reported Russian air defense activity and powerful explosions near the refinery.

Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko later confirmed that drones had struck the industrial zone in Kirishi. According to him, 81 UAVs were shot down over the region.

"Debris was also recorded striking one of the apartments in the town of Kirishi, and a family was evacuated from the apartment. There was no need to evacuate the entire building entrance. Combat operations are ongoing," Drozdenko said.

The Kirishi Oil Refinery is owned by Surgutneftegas. It is Russia's second-largest refinery by oil processing volume and the only facility of its kind in the country's northwest. It was commissioned in 1966 and has a design capacity of approximately 20–21 million tons of crude oil per year. The refinery produces gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, fuel oil, bitumen, liquefied gas and petrochemical products.

The refinery is a key supplier of fuel to St. Petersburg and aviation kerosene to Pulkovo Airport.

The facility plays an important role in supplying petroleum products to northwestern Russia.

In 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on Surgutneftegas and entities associated with it. KINEF was also mentioned in the sanctions documentation. The European Union and the United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on the company.

Read also: Defense Forces strike two Iskander launchers, Pantsir-S1 system in Russia's Bryansk region

The Kirishi Oil Refinery has been repeatedly targeted by drone attacks in 2025–2026. Following an attack on August 30, 2026, it completely halted oil processing due to damage to two primary distillation units.

In total, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, air defense forces shot down 430 UAVs overnight over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Oryol, Pskov, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver and Tula regions, the Moscow region and occupied Crimea.

As Ukrinform reported, overnight on November 7, drones attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Saratov, while a missile attack sparked a fire at the Proton-Electrotex plant in the city of Oryol.

Photo: Exilenova+

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