Fire from the Kirishi refinery in the Leningrad region in northwest Russia following Ukrainian drone strikes, November 9, 2026
EA on International Outlets: Ukraine — US Elections Won’t Stop Trump’s Alliance with Kremlin
Ukraine’s drones struck Russia’s second-largest oil refinery overnight, causing large explosions.
The UAVs targeted the Kinef complex in Kirishi in the Leningrad region in northwest Russia, around 800 km (500 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.
Eyewitness footage showed fireballs from the refinery, illuminating the night sky. NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System detected multiple hotspots.
Leningrad Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko claimed 113 Ukrainian drones were downed over the region.
The sanctioned plant can produce 20 million metric tons of oil per year, more than 6% of Russia’s total refined output. On May 5, it temporarily halted processing after drone strikes damaged three of its four crude distillation units.
Ukraine’s strikes this year have crippled Russia’s refined oil supplies, hindering the full-scale invasion and leading to rationing in more than 50 regions at one point.
The attacks were temporarily halted last month amid threats from Donald Trump. They were resumed when the Trump camp did not pull back from its tilt towards the Kremlin.
