Ukraine has launched 15 drone strikes on Russian refineries in 2024
Fire at the Lukoil-Volgograd Neftepererabotka Refinery.Photo: Sternenko / Telegram
In 2024, there were a total of 15 drone attacks on 13 separate oil refineries located in 9 different regions of the Russian Federation. Out of these, eight facilities sustained significant damage.
The Insider reported this.
The production capacity of the attacked plants is 178 million tons of oil products per year. Still, only eight refineries out of 13, with a total capacity of 83 million tons per year, suffered significant damage.
"If we take into account only the verifiably damaged primary oil processing facilities, then the campaign of airstrikes has so far affected only 46 million tons per year of processing capacity, which corresponds to 14% of the entire capacity of the refinery and 17% of the oil processed in 2023", the message reads.
A series of attacks on the most powerful oil refineries on the territory of Russia has become a new notable campaign of Ukraine, the effectiveness of which is being discussed not only in Ukrainian but also in Western media and expert circles.
The Security Service of Ukraine recently carried out successful attacks on at least 12 oil refineries in Russia. This figure was announced on March 17 by sources of the Security Service both to Suspilne and the Reuters agency, confirming the use of long-range drones.
The Security Service calls such strikes "a strategy for undermining Russia's economic potential and reducing the flow of petrodollars that the enemy is sending to the war."
At the same time, Reuters clarifies that the list of attacks by the Security Service plants does not include the operations of Ukraine's intelligence, which also carries out attacks on Russian refineries with the help of drones. Another source in the intelligence itself informed the agency about this.
For reference:
Thus, on the morning of March 16, in the Samara region of the Russian Federation, attack drones attacked two oil enterprises at once: the drones struck the oil refinery in Syzran and the Novokuybyshiv refinery.
On the night of March 15, Ukrainian drones attacked the petrochemical enterprise First Plant in the Kaluga region of the Russian Federation, which is engaged in oil processing. It was an operation of Ukraine's intelligence.
On the night of March 13, attack drones attacked the Voronezh, Kursk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Leningrad, and Lipetsk regions of the Russian Federation, as well as the oil plant in Ryazan, where a severe fire broke out.
It is worth adding that the Security Service of Ukraine attacked three oil refineries in Russia with drones: in Ryazan, Kstovo of the Nizhny Novgorod region, and Kirishy of the Leningrad region.
Furthermore, during the night of March 12, drones launched strikes on Russian territory, causing fires at oil depots in Orlovskaya and Nizhnygorodskaya. Explosions were also reported in the Moscow, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, and Tula regions.
Also, on March 6, as a result of a drone attack, explosions were heard in the Voronezh region of the Russian Federation. Also, strike drones hit a warehouse of fuel and lubricants in the Kursk region.
In addition, on February 15, drones attacked an oil depot located in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation: after that, a fire broke out, and Ukraine was blamed for the attack.
It is worth adding that Ukraine's intelligence stated that all objects used by the Russian Federation for military purposes could be subjected to similar attacks by strike drones, as occurred on the night of March 12.
