LENINGRAD REGION / KYIV: Flames lit the night sky over northwest Russia on Monday after Ukrainian drones struck the KINEF oil refinery, the country’s second largest, and damaged three of its main processing units, reported by Euro News.
Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said air defences shot down 113 drones aimed at the region. But debris from one fell on the roof of a multi storey building in Vsevolozhsk and killed a resident.
KINEF, owned by Surgutneftegaz, processes about 18 million tonnes of crude oil a year, roughly 7% of Russia’s refining capacity. It produces petrol, diesel, fuel oil and bitumen, and it supplies aviation fuel to St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport. The plant has been a repeated target since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and its owner has been under EU, US and UK sanctions since 2025.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it downed 430 Ukrainian drones across 14 regions and occupied Crimea overnight. Euronews could not independently verify the claim.
The effects are already reaching ordinary drivers. Rosneft announced it was capping fuel sales in six regions, including Karelia, Buryatia and Novosibirsk, according to Russian media. In cities, customers may buy only 30 litres of petrol per transaction, and 50 litres on motorways. Authorities in Leningrad region also urged filling stations to adopt limits.
Ukraine, meanwhile, endured another violent night. Its air force said Russia launched 317 Shahed drones since Monday evening, and 276 were shot down.
Even so, the human toll mounted. A strike on a food warehouse in Odesa killed three people. Two more died in Dnipropetrovsk region, and others were wounded in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk and Sumy. In Kremenchuk, a rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities was destroyed.
In Kamyshivakha, drones struck rescue teams three times as they cleared rubble from a 2 November air strike that killed 55 people. Up to 19 may still be trapped beneath it.
