Kirishi

Kirishi is an industrial city in Leningrad Oblast, approximately 100 km south-east of Saint Petersburg, built principally around the Kirishi Biochemical Plant and the Kirishi refinery — one of Russia's northernmost major petroleum processing facilities. The Kirishi refinery, operated by Surgutneftegas, processes crude oil piped from Western Siberia and produces motor fuels, fuel oil, and petrochemical feedstocks distributed across north-west Russia including Saint Petersburg. By May 2026, Reuters reported that Ukrainian drone strikes had halted or reduced operations at the Kirishi refinery as part of a campaign affecting approximately 25% of Russia's total refining capacity.

Kirishi was a planned Soviet industrial city developed in the 1960s around the refinery, which was constructed to supply fuel to Leningrad and the north-west military district. Its distance from the Ukrainian border — roughly 1,400 km — made it one of the deepest-penetration targets in Ukraine's refinery campaign, demonstrating the extended range of Ukrainian long-range strike UAVs by 2026. The city has a population of approximately 50,000 and its economy is almost entirely dependent on the petrochemical complex.

Damage to Kirishi's refinery tightens fuel supply in a strategically significant region: north-west Russia hosts major military logistics and the Baltic Fleet. Reduced refinery throughput in this region puts added pressure on pipeline and rail fuel distribution from other parts of the country.