A fire at the Kirishi oil refinery following a drone attack was first reported by the governor of the Leningrad region. Later, Ukrainian Telegram channels published photos and video of the blaze.
Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko said early in the morning that three drones were shot down near Kirishi. He said the fire on the refinery grounds was sparked by falling UAV debris, and claimed it had been extinguished by the time of publication. He also reported no casualties. Later, Kommersant, citing Drozdenko, reported that the number of downed drones had risen to four.
Ukrainian Telegram channels posted images of a pillar of fire over the Kirishi refinery. Several OSINT projects verified that the footage shows the oil-processing facility in the Leningrad region. The OSINT project “Oko Gora,News and Analytics” said the strike hit the ELOU AVT‑6 crude distillation unit.
Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed the attack.
“In the night of September 14, 2025, units of the Unmanned Systems Forces and Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in coordination with other components of Ukraine’s Defense Forces, struck the Kirishi oil refinery in the Leningrad region.”
“Explosions and a fire were recorded at the refinery. The results of the strike are being clarified.”
“Kirishi refinery is one of the largest in the Russian Federation; it produces about 80 types of petroleum products, including motor gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and is involved in meeting the needs of the Russian armed forces.”
The Kirishi Oil Refinery (KINEF), owned by Surgutneftegaz, is the largest refining enterprise in northwest Russia, with a capacity of about 20 million tons of oil per year. According to the refinery registry maintained by the Energy Ministry, KINEF is Russia’s second-largest refinery, behind only Omsk. The same federal district also has Lukoil’s Ukhta refinery with a capacity of about 4 million tons, but it is far smaller than Kirishi.
A day earlier, a drone attacked the Novo-Ufimsky Bashneft-Novoil refinery. A fire broke out at the facility. Located more than 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, it became the farthest energy-sector target from the front line to suffer a strike with visible damage. According to the OSINT project “KiberBoroshno,” the hit was on a technological overpass, which could have halted feedstock transport and disrupted some units.
