Reuters: Ukraine Has Knocked Out At Least 17% Of Russia's Oil Refining Capacity
- 26.08.2025, 8:44
A crucial sector of the Kremlin's economy has come under attack.
Ukraine has stepped up drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and export infrastructure. Vladimir Putin's most important sector of the economy has come under attack.
According to Reuters.
According to the agency, Kiev is showing it is capable of retaliating while the US is trying to organize a peace deal.
The attacks have disrupted oil refining and exports from Russia. Gasoline shortages have emerged in some parts of the country. The strikes were a response to Moscow's advance on the frontline and massive attacks on Ukraine's energy sector.
Impact on negotiations and economy
Experts say Kiev's actions are designed to raise the stakes in possible peace talks. In this way, Ukraine is challenging the thesis that it has supposedly already lost the war after Donald Trump and Putin met in Alaska.
Reuters calculates that the attacks hit 10 refineries and knocked out at least 17% of Russia's refining capacity. That's equivalent to 1.1 million bpd.
Exports and seasonal demand
The drone war has boosted crude exports, coinciding with Washington's pressure on China and India to cut purchases from Russia. The strikes came at the peak of seasonal demand for gasoline from tourists and farmers.
Earlier in July, Moscow tightened restrictions on gasoline exports because of rising domestic demand. After the attacks, fuel shortages intensified in southern Russia, the occupied territories of Ukraine and even in the Far East.
Long lines at gas stations have been observed in Vladivostok. Authorities explain the situation by the influx of tourists.
According to Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center expert Sergey Vakulenko, Russian refineries have lost only part of their capacity. However, this could still create problems with domestic fuel supplies.
Russia receives a quarter of its budget revenues from oil and gas exports. Those funds are fueling a 25% increase in military spending, to record levels since the Cold War.
Sanctions and military spending
Western sanctions have forced Moscow to sell discounted oil and cut off gas supplies to Europe. But that has not stopped the production of arms and ammunition.
The war in Ukraine has turned into a standoff of attrition. Both sides are using drones and missiles to strike far behind the front lines, damaging each other's economies.