OR Ukraine is increasingly targeting refineries oil and its export facilities Russia With drones, in an effort to hit the Russian economy, according to Bloomberg. On Friday, Ukraine claimed to hit facilities that were managed by almost half of Russia’s maritime exports. Attacks – in the context of a raid with more than 200 drones that focused on the Leningrad region, border with Finland and Estonia – took place shortly after the attacks on various refineries that are vital to supply Russia to fuel.

Kiev claims that it is trying to deprive the Russian army from fuel and the Kremlin from oil sales revenue. However, Western allies have long expressed reservations about any measures that could disrupt the global supply.

Since the start of the war, two ports of the Baltic Sea have sent most of their exports to China and India. Prior to the war, most of the flows were directed to Europe. But even before Friday’s attack, Ukraine had bombed basic plants that supply Russians with gasoline, diesel and other fuel, limiting Russia’s production and highlighting Kiev’s ability to influence the lives of Russian citizens.

In August, Ukrainian drones carried out at least 13 attacks on large refineries, over half the attacks that took place in the past seven months, according to Bloomberg data. In this context, the refineries in the most densely populated areas of Russia have been more strongly targeted than ever.

The lack of gasoline, initially perceived in remote areas, is now approaching Moscow, with wholesale prices on the SPIMEX Stock Exchange releasing successive records. Independent distributors who do not produce their own fuels have been more affected, but large companies may also have supply problems if Kiev continues its attacks on energy infrastructure.

“So far, shortcomings are limited, it is more of a matter of prices and high tails,” said Sergei Baculenko, a former Russian oil industry official and a senior researcher at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “They are not yet affecting the economy, but they create a nuisance to the public.”

However, it is a concern for the Russian authorities and is high on the agenda of Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and the Ministry of Energy. In response, Russia banned gasoline exports and ordered the refineries to secure domestic diesel supply, limiting missions. The targeted facilities are vital to fuel supply in the European part of the country, where they live more than two -thirds of the population.

The incidence of attacks has forced some top refineries to discontinue their operation for several days to carry out emergency repair work, resulting in Russian oil processing rates to reduce to the lower levels from May 2022.

The Lukoil plant in Volgograd, with a capacity of 300,000 barrels a day, received at least five attacks between January and August. The Rosneft refinery in Rryzan, with a capacity of 340,000 barrels a day, received at least four attacks. A series of factories known as Samara refineries, with a total capacity of 485,000 barrels a day, received at least seven attacks.

These raids contradict the first two years of the war, when Ukrainian drones hit mainly smaller independent refineries in southern Russia, causing minimal impact on national level. In 2024, the attacks were expanded to large facilities across the country, but the damage was limited, as drones rarely hit the same refinery repeatedly, providing time for any repairs.

In its latest report, the International Energy Agency estimated that August’s attacks hit 250,000 barrels a day. This corresponds to about 5% of Russia’s production production, although some estimates are even higher, Bloomberg stresses.

“If the supply problems continue, the Kremlin can start to worry,” Baculenko said. “At the moment, it seems that they are just waiting for the Kremlin to pass this phase.”

Western support?

There is no evidence that Ukraine’s campaign has the support of the West. The allies have long avoided actions that could disrupt oil supply. The risk for Kiev is to move too far, causing increased fuel prices worldwide and tense relations with Europe and the US, where inflation and growth remain priorities for governments.

Ukraine argues that the latest attack on the Baltic Sea caused a temporary interruption of oil loading work in Primorsk, the largest oil loading port in the area, according to an anonymous source in Bloomberg.

The Kremlin has not yet confirmed attacks on the Baltic, while the state -owned Transneft management company did not respond to Bloomberg’s requests for commentary.

A ship anchored in Primorsk caught fire after a drone attack, but the fire was extinguished, according to a post by Leningrad’s Governor Alexander Drozdenko on Telegram. Primorsk is an important port for the movement of Russian oil and refined products. Last month, about 330,000 barrels of diesel fuel and 1.15 million barrels of oil were loaded there, according to Bloomberg data.

“The most effective sanctions are in fact the Ukrainian ‘sanctions’, which are drones attacks on Russian energy facilities,” said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, head of A/S Global Risk Management.