A major fire broke out at the Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery near St Petersburg overnight on 14 September after Ukrainian drones struck the facility. Telegram channels shared videos showing a drone strike and flames at the site.
Ukrainian drones strike fuel-producing giant near St Petersburg
The refinery, located in the city of Kirishi in Leningrad Oblast, roughly 100 km southeast of St Petersburg and 800 km north of Ukraine’s border, is among Russia’s top 10 oil-processing facilities.
According to Ukrainian Telegram channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+, drones struck the plant, triggering a fire. Satellite data from NASA’s FIRMS wildfire monitoring platform confirmed a high-temperature anomaly over the facility starting at 3:56 on 14 September, Militarnyi noted.
While Ukrainian sources indicated this was a deliberate strike, the Russian news Telegram channel Astra cited the governor of Leningrad Oblast, Alexander Drozdenko, who claimed three drones were allegedly shot down in the Kirishi area, and that wreckage from the interception caused a fire on refinery grounds. He stated that the fire was extinguished quickly and reported no casualties.
Geolocation suggests crude distillation unit was struck
Exilenova+ shared videos of the fire and geolocated one of the clips to the AVT-6 unit, a primary crude distillation facility inside KINEF. Supernova+ posted the same footage and confirmed the location, citing point-of-view coordinates of 59.48142116992881, 32.05681249936609. Exilenova+ placed the strike at 59.485193514189746, 32.05810543986888. Both sources concluded the AVT-6 unit was likely the target.
While Ukrainian sources indicated this was a deliberate strike, the Russian news Telegram channel Astra cited the governor of Leningrad Oblast, Alexander Drozdenko, who claimed three drones were shot down in the Kirishi area, and that wreckage from the interception caused a fire on refinery grounds. He stated that the fire was extinguished quickly and reported no casualties.
Second strike on the same facility in six months
This is not the first time the KINEF refinery has come under attack. Ukrainian drones targeted the same facility on 8 March 2025, damaging a fuel storage tank.
Meanwhile, Astra also relayed a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense claiming Russian air defense forces had intercepted 80 Ukrainian drones overnight across several oblasts. According to the ministry, this included 2 drones over Leningrad Oblast, where Kirishi is located, along with other interceptions over Bryansk, occupied Crimea, Smolensk, Kaluga, Novgorod, Oryol, Ryazan, and Rostov oblasts, and the Azov Sea area.