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Russia’s Second-Largest Oil Refinery Suspends Operations After Ukrainian Drone Strikes
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On May 5, Russia’s second-largest oil refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Region, suspended operations after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged three of its four crude distillation units, according to two industry sources cited by Reuters.
The incident comes amid an intensified campaign of long-range drone attacks by Ukraine over the past two months. Targeting key segments of Russia’s oil sector, the effort is aimed at disrupting the financial foundations of Moscow’s war economy, estimated at around $3 trillion.
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Ukrainian strike drones attacked Kirishi Oil Refinery in the city of Kirishi.
Satellite monitoring service NASA FIRMS detected active thermal anomalies at the site, pointing to possible fire damage in the aftermath of the strike.
Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko claimed that Russian air defenses had intercepted 18 drones over the area and said emergency services were working to contain the resulting fires.
Later, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that the attck was carried out by its Alpha unit in coordination with Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and Unmanned Systems Forces.
According to the SBU, the strikes hit three primary crude distillation units—key installations used in the initial stage of oil refining—triggering an ongoing fire. A separate strike also reportedly hit a storage tank containing petroleum products at an adjacent pumping station.
Previous Ukrainian strikes on the same facility have already highlighted its susceptibility to drone attacks. According to Reuters, an earlier strike disrupted operations after damaging a key processing unit, temporarily reducing the refinery’s output.
The Kirishi Oil Refinery processed around 17.5 million tonnes of crude oil in 2024, accounting for roughly 6.6% of the country’s total refining capacity. Its output included about 2 million tonnes of gasoline, 7.1 million tonnes of diesel fuel, 6.1 million tonnes of fuel oil, and approximately 600,000 tonnes of bitumen.
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