In Russia, there were explosions at refineries and oil depots at night, the authorities say about an attack by 60 drones

In Russia, on the night of May 19, there were explosions at refineries and oil depots. The Russian Ministry of Defense says the attack involved more than 60 drones and 9 ATACMS missiles.

In particular, the explosion occurred near the refinery in Slovyansk-na-Kuban, Krasnodar Territory. Local Telegram channels also write about the attack on the military airfield in the town of Kuschevsk.

The General Staff of the Krasnodar Region wrote that 10 drones were destroyed in the region.

Also, an explosion followed by a fire occurred at an oil depot in the city of Vyborg, Leningrad region. At the same time, the local authorities deny the attack and say about "bangs" due to the use of pyrotechnics.

Explosions were also reported in the occupied Crimea, in particular, in Sevastopol, Yevpatoria, Saky, Perevalny, Dzhankoy and Armyansk.

Attacks on Russian refineries

This spring, Ukraine began to actively attack Russian refineries. In March, an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan caught fire after a drone attack, drones attacked a refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region and an oil depot in Oryol, an oil refinery in the Krasnodar region. Meanwhile, the Lukoil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region lost part of its capacity due to the attack, and the refinery in Sloviansk-on-Kuban partially stopped work.

At the end of March , a sharp decrease in gasoline production was recorded in Russia — by 7.4%, to 754.6 thousand tons. Politico wrote that drone attacks on Russian oil refineries led to the fact that one of the worldʼs largest oil powers ran out of gasoline.

On April 10, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin advised Ukraine not to attack Russian refineries, but to "focus on military objectives." The Washington Post wrote that Ukraineʼs attacks on Russian refineries deepen tensions in relations with the United States. While the United States dissuade Kyiv from attacks on oil refineries of the Russian Federation due to fear of rising world prices, Ukraine considers them necessary to increase the cost of aggression for the Russian Federation.