Ukrainian drones paralyzed the work of Russia’s largest refineries – media
фото: росЗМІ
Massive strikes by Ukrainian long-range drones on Russian oil refineries have become one of the main causes of the most serious fuel crisis Russia has faced in recent decades.
This is reported by the Financial Times.
The publication notes that the Ukrainian attacks have significantly weakened the capabilities of the Russian oil refining industry. According to journalists’ calculations, Russia has lost more than 30% of its actual oil refining capacity, and if we take into account the design indicators of the enterprises – more than 45%.
Despite the Kremlin’s efforts to rebuild the damaged factories, work is progressing much more slowly than expected, meaning the effects of the strikes are being felt not for days but for weeks and even months.
The Financial Times, analyzing satellite images and data from S&P Global Energy, concluded that some of Russia’s largest refineries are still operating with restrictions or have not started up at all. In particular, at the time of the analysis, the plants in Kirishi, Tuapse, Samara, and Syzran were not processing oil.
Experts believe that even after these enterprises are launched, it will take more than a year for them to return to their previous production volumes.
At the same time, Russia’s problems may only worsen. Experts point out that the existing drone defense system is not able to effectively counter large-scale Ukrainian attacks.
According to open data, since the beginning of 2026, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have attacked Russian oil refineries at least 194 times. This is 11 times more than during the same period last year.
Stefan Meister, head of the Eurasia Program at the German Foreign Policy Council, explained that Ukraine achieved such results thanks to a sharp increase in the production of long-range drones and the transition to their mass use.
As a reminder, on the night of July 30, drones attacked the Wildberries logistics center in Penza . According to monitoring channels, this warehouse is one of the company’s key distribution hubs, serving the Volga Federal District of Russia. After the strike, a large-scale fire also broke out at the facility.
As reported, in the Russian city of Sarapul (Udmurt Republic) on the night of July 30, drones attacked the Wildberries logistics complex. After the strike, a fire broke out on the territory of the facility. This is the second attack on the company’s warehouses in one night, after the strike on the logistics center in Penza.
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