“Russia understands only this language”: Finnish president supports strikes on Russian oil refineries

President of Finland Alexander Stubb considers strikes on Russian refineries to be very acceptable, as Russia "understands only this language."

He stated this at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Rubryka.

"The only language is the language of power. It is available in Russia. Whoever is responsible for these attacks in Russia, the question remains the same: is it a question of the oil price, or do we have difficulties with it?

War entails collateral damage, and whoever attacks [Russian refineries – ed.] knows what they are doing, they do it skillfully, without endangering civilians, and this needs to be kept in mind," he said.

As the President of Finland aptly stated, war is a brutal and harsh thing.

"But Russia only understands this way, only this language," Stubb noted.

It's important to mention that the UN referred to the recent strike on facilities in Russian Tatarstan as an attack on civilian infrastructure. This strike hit the Shahed production plant and occurred on April 2. The UN urged Ukraine to cease all attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.

It should be noted that on April 3, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, signed the Agreement on cooperation in the field of security and long-term support.

For reference:

In total, in 2024, there have already been 15 drone attacks on 13 oil refineries in 9 regions of the Russian Federation. Of them, eight objects suffered significant damage.

Ukrainian drones targeted an enterprise in Russian Tatarstan, located over 1,000 km away from Ukraine, where Shahed attack drones are assembled. Additionally, the UAVs attacked an oil refinery nearby on April 2.

Only recently, on March 24, another series of explosions rang out in the temporarily occupied Crimea: social networks reported that drones had hit an oil depot near the village of Hvardiyske.

Thus, on the morning of March 16, two oil enterprises were simultaneously attacked by strike drones in the Samara region of Russia. The drones targeted the Syzran Refinery and the Novokuibyshevsk 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. Ukraine's intelligence conducted the operation.

On the night of March 13, several drones attacked various areas of Russia, including Voronezh, Kursk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Leningrad, and Lipetsk regions. The oil plant in Ryazan was also targeted, causing a significant fire to break out.

It is worth adding that the Security Service of Ukraine attacked three oil refineries in Russia with drones: Ryazan, Kstovo of the Nizhny Novgorod region, and Kirishi of the Leningrad region.

On March 12, drones struck the territory of the Russian Federation: oil depots were hit in Oryol and Nizhnygorod, where large-scale fires broke out; explosions were heard in the Moscow region, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, and Tula regions.

In addition, the Main Directorate of Intelligence stated that similar attacks by strike drones, as occurred on the night of March 12, could be subjected to all objects that the Russian Federation uses for military purposes.

Also, on March 6, as a result of a drone attack in the Voronezh region of the Russian Federation, explosions rang out. Moreover, 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.

In her turn, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna reacted to the article about the alleged calls of the US to Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian refineries. She stated that oil refineries on the territory of Russia are legal targets from a military point of view.