Ukraine Claims Overnight Strike On Russia's Saratov Oil Refinery
The Saratov refinery, located in the Volga region, has a design processing capacity of about 140,000 barrels of crude a day.
Ukraine attacked the Saratov crude-oil refinery in Russia’s Volga region overnight as Western nations seek to push President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
Explosions and a fire were registered in the vicinity of the plant, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a Telegram statement on Tuesday, adding that details of the damage are being clarified.
The claim could not be independently verified by Bloomberg. Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft PJSC, which owns the refinery, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments.
Since last month, Ukrainian military forces have intensified drone attacks on Russian energy facilities, including oil refineries, aiming to curb fuel supplies to the front lines. Last week, drones also hit Russia’s largest Baltic oil terminal in Primorsk and claimed strikes on pumping stations feeding another Baltic hub, the Ust-Luga terminal.
Repeated focused strikes on refineries have exacerbated Russia’s seasonal fuel shortage, forcing the government to ban gasoline exports and divert some diesel to the domestic market.
A slew of attacks since the start of August reduced the country’s refining capacity by about 300,000 barrels a day, according to estimates from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That’s more than 5% of Russia’s total active oil-processing capacity, according to Bloomberg estimates.
The Group of Seven nations are now working on a new sanctions package against the Kremlin after US President Donald Trump said he’s prepared to impose “major” sanctions on Russian oil buyers, such as India and China, if other NATO nations do the same. But raising tariffs on Asia’s two largest economies would be difficult for the European Union, as many countries in the bloc, including Germany, rely on those export markets.
The Saratov refinery, located in the Volga region, has a design processing capacity of about 140,000 barrels of crude a day. It’s one of the key suppliers of gasoline and diesel to the European part of Russia, where most of the country’s population lives.
