Ukraine Hits Second-Largest Russian Refinery as Moscow Strikes Power Grid
One woman died and a major oil facility in Leningrad region caught fire after an overnight drone attack, while Russia damaged three substations in Ukraine.
By Lorenzo Patterson ·
At least 113 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Leningrad region in a single overnight assault, according to local authorities. The attack resulted in one death and ignited Russia’s second-largest oil refinery.
Aleksandr Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region, confirmed the strike on the Kirishi refinery via a Telegram post on Monday. He stated that falling debris from a drone killed a woman. An apartment in the town of Kirishi also sustained damage during the incident.
The Kirishi facility processes a substantial volume of the country’s crude oil. The Leningrad region functions as a critical hub for exporting Russian oil and grain through the Baltic Sea. The fire at this specific site highlights the vulnerability of major industrial assets to aerial threats.
Simultaneously, Russian forces targeted energy infrastructure on the Ukrainian side. State news agencies reported that Russian missiles struck three power substations across Ukraine during the same overnight period. Moscow also claimed that its forces hit a cargo ship in the Black Sea, asserting the vessel was delivering weapons to Kyiv. Al Jazeera noted it could not independently verify the ship strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the impact on civilians in a post on X on Monday. He noted that many cities and communities are facing difficult conditions regarding power, water, and heating supplies due to Russian strikes. Zelenskyy identified the Kyiv, Dnipro, Sumy, Donetsk, and Kherson regions as facing the most acute energy crisis.
Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine reached an agreement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to activate a special emergency mechanism. This process allows for faster deployment of European Union funds to repair energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks. The president said the funding would go to what is needed most and added that his teams are already working on the initiative.
