Drones Strike Yeysk Airfield and Major Kirishi Oil Refinery in Russia

On Sunday, August 30, Ukrainian drones targeted a military airfield in Yeysk and a major oil refinery in the Leningrad region, igniting fires at both strategic sites. Independent monitoring channels and NASA FIRMS satellite data reported active fires near the airfield's taxiways and storage facilities. Residents also heard secondary detonations following the attacks.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on the incident. Simultaneously, a large drone swarm struck the Kirishi oil refinery in the Leningrad region. Leningrad Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported that air defenses intercepted 42 drones, but a fire erupted in the industrial zone, prompting an emergency response. The KINEF facility, a key supplier of fuel for the Russian armed forces, processes 20 million tons of crude oil annually, accounting for over 6% of Russia’s refining capacity.

The Sunday attacks follow a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian commercial, logistical, and energy infrastructure. Early Saturday, August 29, drones hit logistics centers of e-commerce giant Ozon and electronics retailer DNS in the Rostov region, causing a minor fire. The strikes on commercial logistics coincide with a state of emergency in the Rostov region, enacted due to severe disruptions in the Azov-Black Sea basin.

The attack on the Kirishi facility is part of a systematic campaign against Russia's oil refining capacity, with recent targets including the Yaroslavnefteorgsintez in Yaroslavl and Lukoil's Nizhny Novgorod refinery.