politics
Russian Missile Barrage Kills at Least 30 in Kyiv After Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Facilities
Russian forces launched an 11-hour missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight into July 2 that killed at least 30 people and struck residential buildings. The assault followed more than 50 Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities since March that have cut roughly one-third of Russia's refining capacity.
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Russian forces launched an 11-hour missile and drone barrage on Kyiv overnight into July 2 that killed at least 30 people and struck residential buildings. The attack ranked among the deadliest on the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian forces have carried out more than 50 strikes on oil refineries and energy facilities in Russia and occupied Crimea since March.
Those operations have reduced Russia's refining capacity by an estimated one-third, according to Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory. Gasoline production fell roughly 17 percent to 850,000 barrels a day, and June fuel output dropped about 25 percent to a two-decade low. Diesel prices in Russia have risen more than 40 percent since spring.
The government permitted production of lower-quality gasoline with higher sulfur content through December 31. Crimea experienced the most severe shortages, with sales to individuals periodically halted. A Bloomberg survey of eight farmers found only two had sufficient fuel to finish harvesting.
President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of government officials last weekend to address the shortages. In televised remarks he described Russia as going through a “difficult period” and pledged to speed repairs of energy facilities while considering gasoline imports. He also said the arms industry would increase production of air defense systems.
Putin stated that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities “have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front” and said Russian forces are advancing across the roughly 1,000-kilometer front line. He responded to an offer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet by challenging him to come to Moscow.
Putin made any ceasefire conditional on Ukraine’s withdrawal from the portion of Donetsk region it still controls and said a final peace deal must require Ukraine to abandon its NATO bid, reduce its military, and protect Russian language and culture.
