Drone Strike Ignites Blaze at Kirishi, Russia’s Key Oil Refinery Near St. Petersburg

Ukrainian forces carried out a drone strike on the Kirishi Oil Refinery in Russia’s Leningrad region overnight on September 14, causing explosions and a large fire at the facility.

According to Russian media Astra, the attack targeted the refinery’s primary oil processing unit known as YELU-AT-6. Satellite data from NASA’s FIRMS system, which records heat anomalies, indicated the fire began at 3:56 a.m. local time.

The refinery, officially named “Kirishinefteorgsintez” and owned by Surgutneftegaz, is one of Russia’s largest, with an annual processing capacity of about 20 million tons. It supplies fuel to St. Petersburg, as well as the Leningrad, Novgorod, and Pskov regions, according to RBC-Ukraine.

Robert “Madiar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces, confirmed the strike in a Telegram post.

“As a result of the drone strike, a large-scale fire broke out on the refinery’s premises, which is confirmed by NASA FIRMS satellite monitoring data. Results are being clarified,” his statement said.

The General Staff of Ukraine also reported that Special Operations Forces and unmanned units conducted the strike jointly.

The refinery is considered the second largest in Russia after the Omsk refinery, processing more than 6% of the country’s crude oil and producing high volumes of gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and aviation fuel.

Earlier, a drone struck the Novo-Ufa oil refinery in Russia’s Bashkortostan region on September 13, more than 1,800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, causing a fire at one of the country’s largest oil-processing facilities.

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