Ukraine hits Russia's second-largest oil refinery as fuel rationing spreads
Ukrainian drones struck the KINEF oil refinery in Russia's Leningrad region on Monday, causing major fires and damaging three oil processing units.
Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said air defences shot down 113 drones targeting the region, but debris from one struck the roof of a multi-storey building in Vsevolozhsk, killing a resident.
Three main processing units at the Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) plant were damaged.
KINEF, the largest refinery in northwest Russia and the second largest in the country behind the Omsk facility, is owned by the Surgutneftegaz group and processes roughly 18 million tonnes of crude oil a year, about 7 percent of Russia's total refining capacity.
The plant produces petrol, diesel, aviation kerosene, fuel oil, bitumen and petrochemical products, and supplies aviation fuel to St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport. Its design capacity is 20-21 million tonnes annually.
The refinery has been targeted multiple times by Ukrainian forces since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Surgutneftegaz was placed under EU, US and UK sanctions in 2025.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces shot down 430 Ukrainian drones across 14 regions and occupied Crimea overnight. These claims could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, the picture of Russia's fuel shortage is becoming clearer. Rosneft announced on Monday that it was capping petrol and diesel sales at its filling stations.
According to Russian media, the restrictions took effect in Karelia, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, and the Novosibirsk, Arkhangelsk and Penza regions.
In cities, customers are limited to 30 litres of petrol per transaction; on motorways, the cap is 50 litres. In Krasnoyarsk Krai, separate limits apply: 30 litres of AI-95, 50 litres of AI-92 and 100 litres of diesel per customer.
Authorities in the Leningrad region also recommended that filling stations cap petrol sales.
Coming amid growing pressure on fuel supplies, the strike on the refinery is the latest example of Ukraine's continuing drone campaign against Russia's energy sector.
