WP: Ukraineʼs attacks on Russian refineries deepen tensions in relations with the US

The US dissuades Ukraine from attacks on Russian oil refineries, fearing the rise in global energy prices and the escalation of the war. Kyiv considers the attacks necessary to increase the price of aggression for the Russian Federation. As a result, tensions between the United States and Ukraine are growing.

This is stated in the article by The Washington Post.

According to media reports, during a private meeting of US Vice President Kamala Harris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Munich conference in February, she told him to refrain from attacking Russian oil refineries.

According to the publicationʼs sources, this advice irritated Zelenskyy and his top aides, and he dismissed the recommendation, not being sure that it reflected the consensus position of the Administration of US President Joe Biden.

But in the weeks that followed, Washington reinforced that warning in numerous conversations with Kyiv, including during a visit to Ukraine in March by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

However, instead of acceding to the US request, Ukraine doubled down on its strategy, striking a number of Russian facilities. These incidents, as WP writes, exacerbated tensions in the relations between the two countries.

Defenders of Ukraineʼs strategy accuse the White House of putting domestic politics ahead of Kyivʼs military goals. At the same time, US officials say the rationale for their reservations is more nuanced than critics suggest.

US government officials acknowledge that supporting global energy markets to reduce inflation is a priority for the Biden administration. In addition, according to them, the increase in energy prices risks weakening European support for aid to Ukraine.

Officials question the military benefit for Ukraine from attacks on refineries. They are also worried that Russiaʼs response to Ukrainian energy will cause much more damage to Ukraine than Russia will suffer from strikes on refineries.

The US opposition to attacks on Russian oil refineries has angered officials in Kyiv, who see the strikes as fair game given Russiaʼs relentless attacks on Ukrainian territory, WP notes. They believe the attacks are necessary to raise the price of Russian aggression and confirm that Russian society will not be safe until the war is over.

Ukrainian officials also consider these attacks necessary in view of the dwindling stockpile of artillery needed to fight Russian positions on the front line. Others said U.S. fears of rising energy prices due to refinery attacks were unfounded, noting that the latest increase was due to OPEC Plus production cuts and instability surrounding Israelʼs war with Hamas.

• This spring, Ukraine began to actively attack Russian refineries. On March 13, an oil refinery caught fire in Ryazan, Russia, after a drone attack. Prior to that, drones attacked a refinery in the Nizhny 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.
• On April 10, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, advised Ukraine not to attack Russian refineries, but to "focus on military objectives."