Photo caption: Russian tanker hit by Ukrainian drone
Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday it had struck refineries, an oil terminal and a depot across Russia, as well as tankers in the Sea of Azov, as Kyiv shows no sign of easing its campaign targeting the Russian energy sector.
According to Reuters report, Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, one of the largest in Russia’s south, caught fire and the Ust-Luga oil refining complex in the Leningrad region was also struck, the general staff said on the Telegram app. Both are frequent targets of Ukrainian strikes.
An oil terminal and an oil depot in the Rostov region came under strikes as well, with further explosions and fire, according to the statement.
Months into Ukraine’s major campaign damaging Russia’s key oil facilities and related logistics, Moscow has been forced to ban diesel exports to ensure domestic supply.
Domestic gasoline output fell to a level equivalent to only around 65% as a result of the strikes, according to two industry sources and Reuters calculations.
Robert Brovdi, Ukraine’s drone forces commander, said Ukraine had also struck 10 tankers in the Sea of Azov, among almost 50 of fuel vessels damaged this week as Kyiv aims to limit fuel supplies for enemy troops and isolate Crimea, which Russia occupied in 2014.
