On the night of October 4 local time, an emergency drone attack on a refinery in Kirish, Leningrad, Russia, triggered a fire in the factory area, but the fire was then extinguished in a timely manner, the incident did not cause any casualties.
According to local officials and media reports, witnesses observed an abnormal fire in the direction of the refinery around Kirish City that night, and immediately discovered a fire in the factory.
Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of Leningrad Oblast, immediately confirmed the drone attack and fire situation through official channels. He issued a message on the telegraph platform stating: "The air defense force responded quickly after detecting UFOs and successfully destroyed Kirishi. Seven drones over the sky. At present, the fire in the industrial zone has been completely extinguished, and relevant follow-up investigation work is advancing."
However, Drozdenko did not further disclose the details of the specific facilities attacked, only emphasizing that order at the scene had gradually been restored.
The media subsequently released on-site videos and photos, which showed that when the attack occurred, there was a clear explosion of fire in the refinery area, the flame was clearly visible in the night environment, some facilities surrounded by smoke, and intuitively showed the impact of the attack.
Surprisingly, the attack on Kirich refinery is not the first time it has been the target.
As one of the largest refineries in Russia, it is more than 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and has been hit by similar attacks at least three times before – in March 2024, March 2025 and September 2025.
Among them, the two attacks in March and September 2025, the Ukrainian military publicly claimed responsibility for the incident, while on the attack on October 4, the Ukrainian side has so far made no relevant comments.
Just a day before the attack on the refinery, two similar drone attacks occurred in Russia, where a chemical plant in the Perm border was attacked by drones, causing a short break in production.
It is that the chemical plant is one of the main producers of nitrogen fertilizers in Russia and also supplies related chemicals used in the manufacture of explosives; the same day, another refinery in the state of Orenburg was also attacked by drones, but did not cause mass production to stagnate.
Over the past year, the Ukrainian military has increased the frequency of attacks on the Russian oil industry and other related enterprises, which have had a certain impact on the normal operation of some enterprises and, to a certain extent, on domestic Russian fuel supplies.
In its position, Ukraine believes that refineries in Russia are legitimate military targets, on the grounds that the production and operation of these facilities provide financial and material support for relevant military operations in Moscow.