Ukrainian drones strike Kirishi refinery that supplies St. Petersburg
Ukrainian drones hit the Kirishi oil refinery in Russia's Leningrad Oblast overnight on 9 November and started a fire. It followed a week in which three of the four refineries supplying Moscow were struck.
Ukrainian drones attacked the Kinef oil refinery in Kirishi, in Russia's Leningrad Oblast, overnight on 9 November, starting a fire, according to regional governor Alexander Drozdenko. The plant is one of Russia's largest and the main fuel source for St. Petersburg, the country's second-largest city. The strike is part of Ukraine's campaign against Russian oil refining, aimed at cutting fuel for the army and revenue for the war budget.
What the governor said
Drozdenko first acknowledged drone hits in Kirishi's industrial zone, a town about 800 km from the Ukrainian border. Debris struck an apartment, and a family was evacuated. By morning he said a drone had hit the refinery grounds and the fire was contained. The town's heating equipment was also damaged, but heat and power generation have been restored. He said air defenses downed 113 drones over the region overnight. In Vsevolozhsk, near St. Petersburg, drone debris hit the roof of an apartment block, and a woman on the top floor died, he later said.
The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ posted the first reports shortly after 3 a.m. Kyiv time and said it was the first attack on the plant since August. Another channel, Supernova+, listed three crude-processing units as possible impact points. Ukraine's General Staff has not yet commented. It earlier put the refinery's capacity at about 20 million tons of crude a year. Temporary flight restrictions were imposed at Pulkovo airport during the attack; the channel Astra says the refinery supplies the airport's jet fuel.
Other strikes
In occupied Crimea, residents reported explosions at the Hvardiiske air base, from which Russia launches drones at Ukraine. In occupied Luhansk Oblast, wind turbines were seen burning in Alchevsk. Russia's Defense Ministry said it downed 430 drones overnight.
Kyiv says the campaign has knocked out more than half of Russia's refining capacity. Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company, has limited fuel sales in all regions, the channel Agentstvo Novosti reported.
