In brief

• Drones attacked the KINEF refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Region, overnight into 9 November, and a fire broke out on site.
• Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko reported drones downed over the region and hits in Kirishi's industrial zone, with shrapnel damaging an apartment.
• The refinery supplies fuel to Saint Petersburg and aviation kerosene to Pulkovo Airport, which reportedly paused flights for over an hour and a half.

Refinery fire after overnight drone attack

Drones struck the Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, known as KINEF, in the town of Kirishi, about 100 kilometres from Saint Petersburg, in the early hours of 9 November. (Дрони атакували НПЗ у Ленінградській області, спалахнула пожежа – Espreso) OSINT analysts working with the Russian outlet ASTRA reviewed footage from the town and confirmed that the refinery was on fire. (Один из крупнейших НПЗ РФ: дроны атаковали нефтеперерабатывающий завод в российских Киришах Ленинградской области — видео – NV) Residents reported air defence activity and powerful explosions near the plant. (Украина атаковала Ленинградскую область. Телеграм-каналы сообщают о пожаре на одном из крупнейших НПЗ России – Meduza)

Regional officials confirm hits

Leningrad Region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said air defence units downed a number of drones over the region, giving figures of 81 in one statement and 113 in later reports. (Крупнейший НПЗ атакован беспилотниками в Ленинградской области РФ – Zerkalo) He confirmed there were hits in the industrial zone of Kirishi. (НПЗ атакован в Ленинградской области – Reform.news) Drozdenko also said shrapnel had entered an apartment in Kirishi, and that a family had been evacuated from it. Debris reached a residential building roof in Vsevolozhsk, according to his account.

Impact on fuel supply and airport

ASTRA described the refinery as a key supplier of fuel to Saint Petersburg and of aviation kerosene to Pulkovo Airport. (Другий за потужністю НПЗ у Росії атакували дрони: виникла пожежа – Українська правда) Reports said Pulkovo did not accept or dispatch flights for more than an hour and a half during the attack. Ukrainian monitoring channels reported that one primary oil distillation unit, ELOU-AVT-2, caught fire, and that units ELOU-AVT-6 and ELOU-AT-6 were also damaged, although these details have not been independently verified.

About the plant

The refinery, which dates to 1966, belongs to the Surgutneftegas group and has a design capacity of about 20 million tonnes of oil a year. It produces petrol, diesel, aviation kerosene, fuel oil, bitumen, liquefied gas and petrochemical products. The United States sanctioned Surgutneftegas and related structures, including the Kirishi refinery, in 2025, and the European Union and United Kingdom imposed sanctions on the company as well. The plant had already been hit by drones during the war and halted operations in early May 2026.

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