Ukrainian drones on the night of Thursday, according to Ukrainian sources, struck an industrial zone near the KINEF refinery in the city of Kirishi in Leningrad Oblast. KINEF is Russia's second-largest refinery, with a capacity of 400,000 barrels of oil per day. The attack came exactly one night after a massive strike on the Ust-Luga oil port on the Baltic and represents the second consecutive night of systematic targeting of energy infrastructure around St. Petersburg. Kyiv Independent ↗ AP ↗
The KINEF refinery in Kirishi, owned by Surgutneftegaz, is located approximately 150 kilometers southeast of St. Petersburg. In 2024 it processed 17.5 million tons of oil, representing 6.6 percent of Russia's total refining capacity. Its key CDU-6 distillation unit processes 8 million tons annually and, following a previous attack in October 2025, was shut down for approximately a month after being hit. Kyiv Post ↗
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, confirmed damage in the industrial zone and the downing of more than 20 drones over the region. Russia's Ministry of Defense stated that a total of 125 drones were shot down overnight across multiple Russian regions as part of the attack. At the same time, drones also targeted Moscow — Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that three drones had been neutralized over the capital. Ukrainska Pravda ↗
Air traffic at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport was, according to several sources, temporarily suspended. According to reports by RBC-Ukraine, temporary restrictions were also introduced at Moscow's Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports. RBC-Ukraine ↗
The attack near the KINEF refinery came just hours after Ukraine, according to Russian data, carried out the largest overnight drone attack since the start of the war on the Ust-Luga port — during which 389 drones were reportedly shot down over 13 regions and Crimea. A fire engulfed several oil storage tanks at Novatek's gas condensate processing plant. Two days earlier, fuel tanks were hit by drones in nearby Primorsk — another Transneft oil terminal. Bloomberg ↗
According to Reuters calculations based on market data, at least 40 percent of Russia's oil export capacity — approximately two million barrels per day — is currently offline. This is the largest outage in Russia's modern history. Ust-Luga alone accounts for more than a third of Russia's tanker oil exports to the west — approximately 700,000 barrels per day. The cause is a combination of drone attacks on all three main western export ports, damage to the Druzhba pipeline, and the seizure of shadow-fleet tankers. Distillate and diesel prices in Asia have risen, as Russian gas condensate supplies to China and Southeast Asia are under threat. Reuters/NBC News ↗
The systematic targeting of Leningrad Oblast is not accidental. The region concentrates key nodes of Russian energy exports — the Ust-Luga port, the Primorsk terminal, and the industrial zone around the KINEF refinery. Disrupting these nodes limits Russia's ability to redirect oil exports to Asian markets, which has served as the main tool for circumventing Western sanctions. In the context of the current tension in the Strait of Hormuz, this represents additional pressure on global energy markets.
Drones hit an industrial zone near Russia's second-largest refinery, Moscow reports downing 125 drones
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