Since the beginning of 2026, Ukraine has launched at least 114 strikes on Russian oil refineries, more than double the number for the same period last year. Some of the damage has been inflicted on the Russian oil company “Rosneft”.
Bloomberg writes about this.
These attacks have caused oil processing volumes at Russian refineries to fall to their lowest levels in several years, causing fuel shortages and forcing Moscow to restrict exports of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
Rosneft has 12 refineries, accounting for about a third of Russia’s total oil refining capacity. Of the 15 confirmed drone strikes on Russian refineries in September, five targeted large “Rosneft” facilities that supply fuel to Russia’s European region, the region with the highest consumption, according to Bloomberg.
The Russian company managed to restart some plants for several weeks after the attacks, but they were soon attacked again, just as repairs were being completed or nearly completed.
According to the journalists’ sources, “Rosneft” representatives privately warned that such costs would be unsustainable in the long term. Therefore, they say, some plants deliberately slowed down repairs, stretching them out over weeks instead of a few days.
According to internal company plans reviewed by Bloomberg, attempts to protect the facilities with shipping containers, nets, and steel cables proved ineffective against drones.
The International Energy Agency said drone strikes on Russian refineries were having a “cumulative negative impact”. Russia is expected to refine about 4 million barrels of oil per day over the next 18 months, about 30% less than before the full-scale war in Ukraine.
- In July, Russia experienced a major fuel crisis amid Ukraineʼs attacks on refineries. Since April 1, Russia has had a ban on gasoline exports, and in early June, the Russian government banned the export of aviation kerosene for the first time.
- On October 9, the US President Donald Trump reported that he had reached an agreement with Vladimir Putin to supply Russian diesel fuel to the US and world markets. He explained this by saying that this agreement, together with US control of the Strait of Hormuz, would help to quickly lower diesel prices in the US and the world. After that, at least two Russian diesel tankers indicated Turkey and Brazil as destinations.
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