Putin's Closest Friend Was Injured

• 10.11.2026, 14:38

Ukrainian drones successfully flew into the Leningrad Region of the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian drones successfully struck the Leningrad Region—the Kirish Oil Refinery (KINEF). This isn’t just another target, but a precision strike against one of the most important facilities in Russia’s oil refining industry.

To give you an idea of the facility’s scale:

It is the second-largest refinery in all of Russia (second only to the one in Omsk).

Refining capacity: over 21 million metric tons of crude oil per year (actually processed about 17.5 million metric tons).

Production: 6–7 million metric tons of diesel and about 2 million metric tons of automotive gasoline annually.

The refinery supplies fuel to all of St. Petersburg and the northwestern region of the Russian Federation, accounting for about 7% of Russia’s total oil refining capacity.

According to preliminary reports, a key primary oil refining unit (AVT-6)—which the Russians had only reluctantly resumed operations on following previous attacks—is on fire again. Shutting down this single unit alone means a loss of 23,000 metric tons of refined oil per day, which accounts for nearly 40% of the entire plant’s total capacity.

And now for the most interesting part—whose pockets are taking the hit. Officially, the refinery is owned by “Surgutneftegaz,” a company that is as opaque as they come. But historically, it was precisely through the exclusive export of petroleum products from the Kirish Refinery that Gennady Timchenko—one of Putin’s closest friends—built his multibillion-dollar empire.

In other words, this isn’t just a loss of thousands of metric tons of fuel for the Russian military and a shortage in their domestic market. It’s also a direct, very painful blow to the personal “wallets” of the dictator’s inner circle.

Vladimir Omelchenko, Facebook