Ukraine’s latest drone strike has forced the shutdown of a major processing unit at the Kirishi refinery near St. Petersburg, in what industry sources describe as the most damaging attack yet on Russia’s northwest energy hub. Reuters reported today that operations at the 355,000-barrel-per-day facility, which handles roughly six percent of Russia’s refining capacity, have been curtailed after fires broke out over the weekend.
The Kirishi outage comes on the heels of a separate Ukrainian strike on the Primorsk oil terminal, where two Aframax tankers the Kusto and the Cai Yun were damaged alongside on-shore pumping equipment. TradeWinds and other maritime trackers confirm both vessels remain berthed since Friday, with ship-to-ship movements limited. According to Ukrainian analysts cited by Kyiv Post, loading capacity at Primorsk may be cut by as much as 50%.
Traders are now assessing the risk to Russian crude and diesel exports from the Baltic system. Primorsk alone ships up to 1 million barrels per day of crude, most of it routed from Russia’s interior pipelines. While some media reports indicate that Primorsk resumed partial operations on Saturday, damage has reportedly ensured below-capacity functioning, with loading schedules set for days-long delays.
Even partial disruptions threaten to tighten supplies at a time when markets are bracing for seasonal demand.
Russian officials continue to downplay the damage. St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said most drones were intercepted and claimed ground damage was minimal. Moscow’s defense ministry asserted more than 300 drones were destroyed during the latest assault. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the operations, calling strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure “sanctions that work.”
The escalation marks Ukraine’s deepest penetration into Russia’s energy network, hitting not only sanctioned “shadow fleet” tankers but also refining units critical to domestic supply in Putin’s home region. Analysts warn that if Kyiv sustains this tempo, Russia’s export flows from Primorsk and Ust-Luga could face prolonged capacity constraints.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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