The head of the Pentagon advised Ukraine not to attack Russian refineries, but to “focus on military objectives”

Ukraineʼs recent attacks on Russian oil refineries could affect global energy markets, so the US recommends "focusing on military objectives."

This was stated by US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin at a meeting of the US Senate Committee on Armed Forces, reports Bloomberg.

"These attacks could have consequences for the global energy situation. It is better for Ukraine to strike at tactical and operational targets that can directly affect the current battle," the head of the Pentagon said.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton reacted to Austinʼs remarks about attacks on Russian refineries.

"It seems to me that the Biden administration doesnʼt want gas prices to go up in an election year," he said.

Lloyd Austin also repeated the US administrationʼs request to Congress to approve additional military aid to Ukraine. He emphasized that it, among other things, provides jobs for American workers through increased US defense production.

• On March 13, an oil refinery caught fire in Ryazan, Russia, after a drone attack. Prior to that, drones attacked a refinery in the Nizhniy Novgorod region and an oil depot in Oryol. At the same time, the oil refinery of the Lukoil company in the Nizhny Novgorod region lost part of its capacity due to the attack. On March 17, another oil refinery in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation caught fire due to a drone attack.
• On March 22, the Financial Times wrote that the US even called on Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, as this could raise global oil prices and provoke attacks on Ukrainian energy in response.
• At the end of March, a sharp decrease in gasoline production was recorded in Russia — by 7.4%, to 754.6 thousand tons.