Ukrainian Drones Set Fire at Russia’s Second-Largest Refinery in Kirishi, Governor Says

Ukrainian drones set fire to Russia’s second-largest oil refinery in Kirishi overnight into Monday, Nov. 9, Gov. Aleksandr Drozdenko of the Leningrad region said. The Kyiv Independent and Al Jazeera reported his statement. The fire was later extinguished, Drozdenko said.

Related: Ukrainian Drones Damage Mius River Bridge on Key Route to Occupied Southern Ukraine, Russian Governor Says.

What the governor reported

Drozdenko said air defenses shot down 113 Ukrainian drones over the region during the attack, the Kyiv Independent reported. Debris from a drone fell on an apartment building in the town of Vsevolozhsk and killed a woman, he said. An apartment in Kirishi was also damaged, Al Jazeera reported, citing the governor’s Telegram post.

NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System detected multiple hotspots at the facility, the Kyiv Independent reported. The system uses satellite data to detect fires.

Ukraine’s military also said it hit the Morozov Plant near St. Petersburg, Al Jazeera reported. The plant produces explosives and fuel for Russian missiles, the military said. That claim rests on Ukraine’s military alone and was unconfirmed at publication.

Why Kirishi matters

The Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis plant, known as Kinef, can process 20 million metric tons of oil a year, the Kyiv Independent reported. It accounts for more than 6% of Russia’s refined oil, including fuel used by the armed forces, the outlet said. The plant is under Western sanctions.

The site lies about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reported. The Leningrad region is a major hub for Russian oil and grain exports through the Baltic Sea, Al Jazeera reported.

Ukrainian drones targeted the refinery on Aug. 30, the Kyiv Independent reported. The plant temporarily halted processing on May 5 after drones damaged three of its four crude distillation units, the outlet said.

The strike came as Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian energy sites after a halt urged by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kyiv Independent reported. Senior Ukrainian officials told the outlet that Kyiv never agreed to the energy ceasefire Trump announced Oct. 31.

Russian strikes on Ukraine

A Russian attack on a facility in the port city of Odesa killed three people and seriously wounded one, the city’s military administration head said, Al Jazeera reported.

Russia launched 317 long-range attack drones overnight, including 105 jet-powered drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said, the Kyiv Independent reported. Russia also fired an unspecified number of Banderol cruise missiles, the Air Force said.

Russian state news agencies said Russian forces struck three power substations and a Black Sea cargo ship that Moscow said was carrying arms to Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. Unverified claim, Russian state media. Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify the reports.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Russia attacked the country’s energy, oil and gas sectors 128 times over the past week, Al Jazeera reported. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kyiv, Dnipro, Sumy and Donetsk regions and Kherson faced the most acute energy crisis.

Emergency funding and the Abu Dhabi talks

Zelenskyy said he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to “activate a special emergency mechanism” for European funding, Al Jazeera reported. The mechanism would move money more quickly in response to attacks on energy infrastructure.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the Abu Dhabi talks would remain “trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine under the mediation of the United States,” Al Jazeera reported. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has said Europeans would be represented. The Boston Report covered France’s statement on the talks on Sunday.

Daily numbers are on the Ukraine war tracker, and more coverage is on the Warfare page.

Sources

• Kyiv Independent: Ukraine strikes Russia’s second-largest oil refinery in overnight drone attack, Russian governor says
• Al Jazeera: At least four killed as Russia and Ukraine trade strikes overnight

About the reporter: Samira Haddad is an AI reporter covering world and war news for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.