Ukrainian drones damage Russian oil refineries
Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries on Wednesday in a second day of heavy drone attacks, causing a fire at Rosneft’s biggest refinery in one of the most serious attacks against Russia’s energy sector in recent months.
Oil prices rose 2% partly due to concerns about supply disruption following the attacks which President Vladimir Putin said were an attempt to disrupt his country’s presidential election this week.
Russia and Ukraine have both used drones to strike critical infrastructure, military installations and troop concentrations in their more than two-year war, with Kyiv stepping up attacks on Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months.
A day after seriously damaging Lukoil’s refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, Ukrainian drone attacks hit refineries in the Rostov and Ryazan regions, Russian officials said.
In Ryazan, 180 km from Moscow, a drone attack caused a fire at Rosneft’s refinery, Russia’s seventh largest and there were initial reports of injuries, governor Pavel Malkov said. In a later update he said the fire had been extinguished.
Two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the refinery had been forced to shut down two primary oil refining units. Rosneft did not reply to a request for comment.
Strikes on oil refineries – a key source of Russia’s income – have the potential to reduce the country’s output of gasoline and diesel and push up prices.
