Ukrainian drones hit Kirishi refinery near St Petersburg, Russia reports 113 downed

The overnight attack

Ukrainian drones attacked the KINEF refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Oblast, during the night of 8 to 9 November 2026, according to Ukrainska Pravda and Astra, which relied on witnesses and Ukrainian Telegram monitoring channels. Kirishi lies between 90 and 100 km southeast of St Petersburg, depending on the source. Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko confirmed a drone hit in the industrial zone of Kirishi without naming the enterprise, and said air defences had shot down 113 drones over the region overnight. Ukraine had not officially commented on the strikes.

Fire and damage on the site

Videos posted online showed a fire on the refinery grounds, and the Exilenova+ Telegram channel counted several separate seats of fire. Information about the blaze circulated on Telegram and social networks before any official confirmation of the plant as the target. Residents of Kirishi reported explosions, air defence activity and the evacuation of an apartment block, according to Astra. Rzeczpospolita reported that Drozdenko acknowledged debris from the drone had damaged a residential building in Kirishi, and that further debris fell on a roof in Vsevolozhsk. Rzeczpospolita also described a series of blasts and a refinery engulfed in flames, based on Telegram reports.

Disruption in St Petersburg

Pulkovo airport, which the Kirishi plant supplies with jet fuel, suspended operations because of the overnight attack. Mobile internet also stopped working in St Petersburg after authorities said a large number of drones was over the region. Around 1 a.m. local time Drozdenko said numerous drones were attacking Kirishi from all directions. The 113 downed drones figure comes from the governor alone, and the sources do not give an independent count.

Why the refinery matters

KINEF belongs to Surgutneftegas and was commissioned in 1966. Astra put its share at about 7% of Russian refining, with a design capacity of 20 to 21 million tonnes of oil a year and recent throughput of about 18 million tonnes a year. The plant produces petrol, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, bitumen and liquefied gas for north-western Russia. The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union sanctioned Surgutneftegas in 2025, and the sanctions documents also referred to the Kirishi plant.

Earlier halt and wider campaign

The refinery had already been hit repeatedly in 2025 and 2026. After an attack on 30 August 2026, it stopped processing oil entirely because two primary processing units were damaged. Oko.press reported that in the week before 9 November, Ukrainian strikes also hit refineries in Kstovo, Yaroslavl, Ryazan, Afipsky and Saratov. The attack came on the eve of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November between delegations from the United States, Ukraine and Russia.