Russia’s Kirishi refinery hit by debris during Ukrainian drone attack

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By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) -A tank at Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery, one of the country’s largest, was damaged by falling debris during a major Ukrainian drone attack, the governor of the northwestern Leningrad region said on Saturday.

Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery is one of the top two refineries in Russia. It refines about 17.7 million metric tons per year (355,000 barrels per day) of Russian crude, or 6.4% of the country’s total.

“Air defences shot down one drone on approach, the other was destroyed over the territory of the enterprise,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, said on Telegram.

“When the debris fell, the external structure of one of the tanks was damaged,” he said.

No one was injured, he said.

A source at the refinery told Reuters that debris fell on the tank but nothing caught fire, adding that specialists were dealing with the wreckage.

There was no immediate comment from Surgutneftegaz, one of Russia’s biggest oil companies, or from Ukraine.

The Kirishi refinery produces about 2.3 million tons of gasoline, or 5.3% of Russia’s total. It also produces 7.6% of the country’s diesel fuel, 16.3% of its fuel oil and 3.4% of its aviation fuel, according to industry sources.

Russia’s defence ministry said that 31 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over Russia, including 26 over the Krasnodar region.

(Editing by Himani Sarkar; Editing by Sharon Singleton)