Ukrainian drone strikes hit Russian refineries as fuel strains spread
Russian officials reported refinery damage, deaths and fuel limits as Putin told party members the country was in a difficult period.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Ukrainian drone attacks struck Russian energy infrastructure again overnight, with Russian officials reporting a fire at a major southern refinery and at least two deaths in separate strikes. The attacks matter because Kyiv has been targeting fuel supplies and oil revenue that help sustain Moscow’s war, now in its fifth year, according to the Associated Press.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told a conference of the ruling United Russia party on Sunday that Russia was “going through a difficult period,” the AP reported. He did not directly mention the drone strikes or fuel shortages, but said Moscow was changing some plans while maintaining social commitments to citizens.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” had reached two oil refineries in Russia, according to the AP. Zelenskyy said each strike reduces resources for Russia’s war effort and moves the conflict closer to peace.
Refinery fire in southern Russia
Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, said debris from intercepted Ukrainian drones started a fire at the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, east of occupied Crimea, the AP reported. Local officials said one person was killed in Slavyansk and another person was wounded in a nearby village.
The Slavyansk refinery processes nearly 4 million tons of crude oil a year, according to the operator’s website cited by the AP. The site supplies petroleum products for export through Russia’s Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha and marine fuel.
Zelenskyy also said a refinery in the Yaroslavl region, about 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, was hit during the overnight operation, the AP reported. Russian authorities did not immediately confirm damage at that refinery.
Yaroslavl regional Gov. Mikhail Evraev said Sunday that some roads between Moscow and the city of Yaroslavl were temporarily shut because of what he called an enemy Ukrainian drone attack, according to the AP. Russia’s civil aviation agency said Yaroslavl’s airport and other airports in southern and western Russia briefly closed overnight.
Fuel pressure reaches Siberia
Ukraine has increased long-range attacks on Russian military production and energy sites in recent months, according to the AP. Western analysts cited by the AP say the campaign has strained Russian fuel supplies and military deliveries, while adding pressure on Moscow over battlefield operations and negotiations.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia was reviewing fuel export agreements to protect domestic supply, the AP reported. In Siberia’s Irkutsk region, Gov. Igor Kobzev announced Sunday that drivers would be limited to 50 liters per vehicle per day at state-run Rosneft stations, with other stations allowed to set tighter caps.
Two private gas station networks in Siberia, KreisNeft in the Irkutsk region and Elke Auto in the Tomsk region, said earlier this month that they had restricted sales because of supply disruptions, according to the AP.
The fuel problems have also affected occupied Crimea. Kremlin-installed officials there suspended gasoline sales to civilians last weekend after Ukrainian attacks on supply routes triggered the peninsula’s worst energy crisis since Russia’s 2014 annexation, the AP reported.
Both sides report overnight attacks
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 213 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia, occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas, according to the AP. In Russia’s Belgorod region, acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev said Ukrainian drone strikes killed one person and injured another.
Ukraine also reported Russian attacks. Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, said a Russian aerial bomb killed two people in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and injured 16 others, including two children, the AP reported.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 142 long-range strike drones and eight missiles overnight, according to the AP. Ukrainian officials said air defenses intercepted 125 drones and seven missiles.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.