Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ukrainian drones targeted the Kirishi oil refinery in northwest Russia, one of the nation’s largest, causing a fire when debris from a downed drone landed, according to Russian officials on Sunday.
As major powers discuss ways to end Europe‘s deadliest conflict since World War II, the drone war is intensifying. Russia’s drones have been shot down in NATO member Poland, while Ukraine has targeted Russian oil refineries and pipelines – the world’s second-largest oil exporter.
One of Russia’s top two refineries, Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez, was targeted by Ukrainian drones, according to Russian officials.
What damage did the drone strike cause at Kirishi?
According to Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, three drones were downed in the Kirishi area, and a fire caused by falling debris has been extinguished. There were no reported injuries. Ukraine‘s drone command confirmed it targeted the refinery and said it had “carried out a successful strike”.
Every year, Kirishi refines around 17.7 million metric tons of Russian crude, equivalent to about 355,000 barrels per day, which makes up 6.4% of the country’s total.
Additionally, Russia claimed to have destroyed over 80 Ukrainian drones overnight. According to regional governor Radiy Khabirov, an oil company in Russia’s Bashkortostan region will continue to operate at normal production levels despite a drone attack on Saturday.
What previous attacks has Kirishi refinery faced from Ukraine?
Since the start of 2024, Ukraine has been performing drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and other related facilities, and the Kirishi oil refinery has also been hit in the past. It has been stepping up this campaign through 2025 as a way to cripple Russia’s war economy by attacking choice energy infrastructures.
Similarly, in March 2025, Ukrainian drones targeted the Kirishi oil refinery. This strike disrupted around half of the plant’s output temporarily by damaging critical infrastructure, marking a significant blow to Russia’s refining capacity.
Moreover, throughout 2025, the Afipsky Oil Refinery in the Krasnodar region of Russia has been subjected to numerous attacks by Ukrainian drone strikes, which have resulted in fires and significant interruptions to the operations of the plant. One of the notable attacks was in early August when debris from Ukrainian drones impacted on a processing unit for gas condensate, which resulted in a fire that was extinguished quickly afterwards.
