Ukrainian drone attack on Kirishi oil refinery in Russia, Digi Mart USA News (Kirishi, Leningrad Oblast, Russia): A Ukrainian drone attack hit Russia’s second-largest oil refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Oblast, in an overnight attack, according to regional governor Aleksandr Drozdenko, who confirmed the strike on Nov. 9. Fire erupted on the refinery grounds after the strike but has since been extinguished, Drozdenko said.
The attack caused large explosions at the site, roughly 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) north of Ukraine, multiple Ukrainian monitoring channels, including Exilenova+ and Supernova+, reported. Eyewitness footage appeared to show enormous fireballs rising from the refinery and lighting up the night sky.
NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), which uses satellite data to detect thermal anomalies and fires, detected multiple hotspots at the facility. Drozdenko said a total of 113 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the region during the attack.
Elsewhere in Leningrad Oblast, debris from a Ukrainian drone fell on an apartment building in the town of Vsevolozhsk, killing a woman, the governor added.
The Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis plant, also known as the Kinef plant, can produce 20 million metric tons of oil per year and is subject to Western sanctions against Russia enacted by Ukraine’s allies, including measures imposed by the U.S. The facility produces more than 6% of Russia’s total refined oil, including a wide range of petroleum products such as fuel used by the country’s armed forces.
Ukrainian drones targeted the refinery previously on Aug. 30. On May 5, the Kirishi refinery temporarily halted processing after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged three of its four crude distillation units.
The attacks come as Ukraine resumes strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure following a temporary halt urged by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Senior Ukrainian officials confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Kyiv never agreed to Trump’s unilaterally imposed energy ceasefire with Russia on Oct. 31.
Russia has increased strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent weeks, causing widespread blackouts and water outages, as well as civilian deaths.
