Ukrainian drones damage area near one of Russia's biggest oil refineries

An industrial area near one of Russia's biggest oil refineries was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack, a Russian official said on Thursday.

At least 40% of Russia's oil export capacity is at a halt following Ukrainian drone attacks, a disputed attack on a major pipeline and the seizure of tankers, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

More than 20 drones were shot down over the northern Leningrad region, according to Governor Alexander Drozdenko.

"The attack is being repelled over the Kirishi district. There is damage in the industrial area," Drozdenko said on Telegram.

Drozdenko did not specify what part of the industrial area was damaged, but the town of Kirishi is home to one of Russia's largest oil refineries, Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez plant, which was repeatedly targeted by Ukraine last year.

According to industry sources, the refinery processed 17.5 million metric tons of oil (350,000 barrels per day) in 2024, which amounted to 6.6% of Russia's total oil refining volumes.

It produced 2 million tons of gasoline, 7.1 million tons of diesel, 6.1 million tons of fuel oil and 600,000 tons of bitumen.

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Meanwhile, the Regional Governor in the Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukrainian drones had killed an 18-year-old man on a motorcycle in a village near the border and a woman in her car in the town of Graivoron.

Belgorod has frequently come under attack from Ukrainian forces in the four-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow.

In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 17 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed on their way to the capital over the course of Wednesday.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.

Russia's Baltic Sea ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, major exporting outlets, suspended crude oil and oil products loadings after Ukrainian drone attacks on Wednesday, two sources said.

Russian officials said earlier on Wednesday a fire broke out at Ust-Luga after a Ukrainian drone attack.

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Over in Ukraine, Russian attacks have killed two people in Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv and the region around it.

Also a strike on the Danube port of Izmail damaged port facilities and energy infrastructure, officials said.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app that one person was injured and that the attack also damaged energy and industrial infrastructure.

Local officials in the Izmail district said that close to 17,000 consumers were without power as a result of the attack, which also cut off water supply in the nearby town of Vylkove.

Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority said that one of the ports on the Danube had come under attack. It did not name the port, but said that warehouses, quays and administrative buildings were damaged. It also reported damage on the premises of separate port operators.

The port continues to operate, it said.

Prosecutors in the Kharkiv region, said in a statement on Telegram early on Thursday, that a woman injured in an attack on the city of Kharkiv had died of her injuries in hospital.

They said nine people were injured in strikes on two districts of the city, a frequent target of Russian forces, 30 km (18 km) from the border.

Prosecutors also said a Russian drone killed a man in his car in a district closer to the border.

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Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 153 drones at the country, of which 130 were downed or neutralised.

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News Politics Surgutneftegaz Kirishinefteorgsintez Russia war in Ukraine oil refinery kharkiv Kyiv Moscow