Ukrainian drones hit Russia's second-largest refinery as fuel rationing spreads across regions

Ukrainian drones attacked the KINEF oil refinery in Russia's Leningrad region on Monday, 9 November, causing major fires and damaging three main processing units. The plant is the second-largest refinery in Russia, and the strike comes as fuel sales are already being restricted in several Russian regions.

Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said air defences shot down 113 drones over the region, but debris from one of them hit the roof of a multi-storey building in Vsevolozhsk and killed a resident.

About the refinery

Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) is the largest refinery in northwest Russia and the second largest in the country after the Omsk facility. It is owned by the Surgutneftegaz group and processes about 18 million tonnes of crude oil a year, roughly 7% of Russia's total refining capacity. Its design capacity is 20–21 million tonnes annually. The plant makes petrol, diesel, aviation kerosene, fuel oil, bitumen and petrochemical products, and supplies aviation fuel to St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport. It has been targeted repeatedly since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Surgutneftegaz was placed under EU, US and UK sanctions in 2025.

Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 430 Ukrainian drones overnight across 14 regions and occupied Crimea. Euronews could not independently verify these claims.

Fuel limits

Russian oil company Rosneft announced on Monday that it was capping petrol and diesel sales at its filling stations. According to Russian media, the limits apply in Karelia, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, and the Novosibirsk, Arkhangelsk and Penza regions. In cities, customers may buy up to 30 litres of petrol per transaction; on motorways the limit is 50 litres. In Krasnoyarsk Krai, separate limits are 30 litres of AI-95, 50 litres of AI-92 and 100 litres of diesel per customer. Authorities in the Leningrad region also recommended that filling stations cap sales at 30 litres of petrol and 50 litres of diesel.

Russian strikes on Ukraine

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 317 Shahed-type drones since Monday evening, including 105 jet-powered ones. Of these, 276 were shot down. Impacts were recorded in 31 locations, with falling debris in nine more.

A drone strike on a food warehouse in Odesa on Monday morning killed three people and left one in serious condition. Two people were killed and seven injured in Dnipropetrovsk region. Nine people, including children, were injured in Kharkiv region. Six were wounded in and around Zaporizhzhia. In Kremenchuk, Poltava region, seven people were injured, including a 16-year-old, and a rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities was destroyed.

In Kamyshivakha, drones struck rescuers three times as they cleared rubble from a Russian air strike on 2 November that killed 55 people. Up to 19 people may still be trapped, and police have identified 30 of the dead.