Ukraine refinery strikes cut Russian crude processing to lowest since 2005, prompting Moscow export ban

Ukrainian drone strikes have reduced Russian crude processing to its lowest level since March 2005. com. Ukraine has struck at least 24 of Russia's 34 large refineries in roughly 50 attacks over the past 100 days.

The campaign began in March and continued through mid-July. On July 6, drones hit the Omsk refinery, more than 2,000 kilometers from the front line. The facility processed about 22 million tonnes of crude in 2024.

Damage was reported to primary crude distillation units ELOU-AVT-11 and AVT-10. On July 14, additional strikes targeted the Afipsky refinery in the Krasnodar region and Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat in Bashkortostan. Earlier attacks halted operations at the Saratov refinery in March and reduced capacity at the Kirishi refinery after strikes in March and May.

The Moscow refinery, hit multiple times in June, may remain offline through the end of the year. Moscow has banned exports of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel in response to the supply shortfalls. OilPrice.com reported that the cumulative effect has forced Russia to increase fuel imports to meet domestic demand.