Ukrainian Drones Knock Out About 60% of KINEF Oil Refinery Capacity

Satellite imagery has confirmed that Ukraine’s Defense Forces hit the Kirishi Oil Refinery (Kirishinefteorgsintez, KINEF) in the Leningrad region.

The Absolutely Reliable Source project reported this.

On August 30, 2026, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the facility. Later, on September 2, it became known that the refinery had halted operations.

Reuters reported damage to key units at the facility at the time, but details were not disclosed.

Now, favorable weather conditions have made it possible to obtain high-quality satellite imagery confirming that two primary oil-processing units and three secondary processing units were hit.

The following facilities were identified at the refinery: ELOU-AT-1 — hit and shut down, with a capacity of 1.7 million tons per year; ELOU-AT-6 — hit and shut down, with a capacity of 7.6 million tons per year; ELOU-AVT-2 — undergoing repairs following a previous strike, with a capacity of 2.8 million tons per year; and ELOU-AVT-6 — fully operational, with a capacity of 8 million tons per year.

The secondary processing units LCh/24/9 and LCh/24/10, which are diesel fuel hydrotreating units, as well as the LG-35/8-300B catalytic reforming unit, were also identified.

Of the refinery’s total design primary processing capacity of 20.1 million tons per year, more than 12 million tons are currently out of service, accounting for about 60% of its capacity.

The refinery is one of Russia’s largest oil-processing facilities, with an estimated capacity of approximately 330,000-350,000 barrels per day.

Ukrainian drones first hit the refinery on March 8, 2025. KINEF, which accounts for 7% of Russia’s total oil refining and produces 2 million tons of gasoline and 7 million tons of diesel fuel annually, had already been forced to halt operations for extended repairs twice this year due to UAV attacks — on March 26 and May 5.

The refinery had never been fully restored. In August, it was operating at approximately 50% capacity.