Ukrainian drones strike Russia's second-largest oil refinery, setting fire to Kirishi plant
Photo: Root-Nation (file photo)Ukrainian drones struck Russia's second-largest oil refinery overnight, causing large explosions and fires at the Kinef plant in Kirishi, about 800 kilometers north of Ukraine, monitoring channels reported early Monday.
Eyewitness footage appeared to show enormous fireballs rising from the refinery and lighting up the night sky. NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System, which uses satellite data to detect thermal anomalies, registered multiple hotspots at the facility, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad Oblast, said Russian air defenses shot down 81 Ukrainian drones over the region while the operation was still under way, and the count later rose to 113. He confirmed that drone strikes hit the industrial zone in Kirishi. Debris from a drone struck an apartment building in the town, and a family was evacuated; no injuries were reported in Kirishi.
The Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis plant, also known as the Kinef plant, can process about 20 million metric tons of oil a year — more than 6 percent of Russia's total refined oil output. It produces a range of petroleum products, including fuel that supports the country's armed forces, and is subject to Western sanctions, including measures imposed by the United States. The extent of the damage to the plant, and whether processing has been halted, was not independently confirmed. Preliminary assessments by open-source analysts suggested fire at a primary crude-processing unit, but that had not been officially confirmed.
The refinery has been targeted before. On May 5, it temporarily halted processing after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged three of its four crude distillation units, and drones targeted the facility again on August 30.
The strike comes as Ukraine resumes attacks on Russian energy infrastructure after a temporary halt urged by U.S. President Donald Trump. Senior Ukrainian officials have said Kyiv never agreed to the energy ceasefire Trump announced on October 31. It also comes as Russia has intensified its own strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing widespread blackouts — and one day before U.S.-mediated working-level talks between Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to open in Abu Dhabi on November 10.
Sources: The Kyiv Independent, "Ukrainian forces reportedly strike Russia's second-largest oil refinery in overnight drone attack" (Nov. 9, 2026); ANI, "Ukrainian drones strike Russia's second-largest oil refinery; Moscow claims it downed 81 UAVs" (Nov. 9, 2026, via New Kerala). Event date verified: the drone strike took place overnight on November 8–9, 2026, at the Kinef refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Oblast, Russia; the explosions and fire were confirmed by the regional governor and by satellite fire-detection data the same night.
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