SEATTLE (Oil Monster): As per latest media reports, Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on oil refineries deep in the Russian territory. The attacks are being labelled by Russian authorities as a deliberate attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the upcoming Presidential elections in Russia.
In the most recent incident, a drone attack has reportedly ignited a blaze at Rosneft PJSC’s Ryazan plant, located near the capital city of Moscow. The refinery, which possesses an annual capacity of 17.1 million tons, is one of the country’s largest crude-processing facilities.
A similar drone attack had forced the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in the southern Rostov region to halt its operations. The facility has an annual capacity of 5.6 million tons or approximately 112,000 barrels per day. Also, drones have been launching repeated attacks on Surgutneftegas PJSC’s Kinef refinery in Kirishi, situated on the Baltic coast, which is a major contributor of Russia’s fuel exports. In addition, the attacks had caused damage to a unit of Lukoil PJSC’s Norsi refinery in Nizhny Novgorod.
The refineries targeted by the drones over the past two days collectively account for nearly 12% of the country’s total oil processing facility.