Oil terminal in Ust-Luga, Russia. Stock Photo: Maximillian cabinet/Shutterstock
By Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) —
Ukraine claimed it successfully struck a Russian oil refinery and a pumping station on a vital crude pipeline with drones as Kyiv steps up its attacks on its rival’s energy infrastructure.
There was confusion about one of the claims and the other couldn’t be immediately verified.
Kyiv’s forces attacked an oil-pumping station on the Baltic Pipeline System-2, a conduit that takes the nation’s crude to the port of Ust-Luga, Russia’s second-largest on the Baltic Sea, a Ukrainian official claimed, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. It wasn’t immediately possible to check the claim with Transneft, Russia’s oil-pipeline operator.
Separately, drones hit an oil refinery in Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region, causing a fire at the facility which supplies the Russian military with fuel, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a post on Facebook. Lukoil PJSC’s Norsi refinery is in that location and was previously a target of Ukrainian attacks.
A person in Russia with knowledge of the matter, who didn’t want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the information, said that the Norsi refinery’s production wasn’t affected and that it continues to run normally. Lukoil didn’t respond to a request for a comment. A fire was reported at a nearby plant owned by Russian petrochemical group Sibur. Russia hasn’t confirmed an attack on Norsi.
Under the prior Biden administration, the US discouraged Ukraine from attacking Russia’s oil infrastructure for fear it would drive up fuel prices and serve as an inflationary catalyst. Those strikes now appear to be intensifying.
Lukoil’s Norsi oil-refining facility has been a Ukrainian target for some time, with attacks last year leading to some disruptions in operations. The facility processes about 340,000 barrels a day of crude, with most of the fuel going to Russia’s domestic market.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said a total of 104 drones were shot down across nine regions overnight.
Ukraine has been targeting Russian energy facilities for about a year to cut funding for its foe’s war effort and to limit fuel supplies to the front line.
Kyiv hit the Ryazan refinery, owned by oil giant Rosneft PJSC, on Friday and Sunday. The facility halted crude intake following the strikes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Before the latest attacks on the Ryazan and Norsi refineries, Russia’s daily crude processing was near a four-week high.
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