Ukraine has struck one of Russia's largest refineries, Lukoil's Volgograd processing facility, Ukrainian forces reported. The Volgograd refinery has a capacity to process 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, producing gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The hit was reported as a 'success' by Ukraine, without details on the extent of damage.
Andrei Bocharov, the governor of Russia's Volgograd region, stated that a fire broke out at an industrial facility in the fuel and energy complex following a mass drone attack. He did not specify the site.
This is not the first strike on the Volgograd refinery, which had to suspend crude oil processing earlier this year after a Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire at the plant.
The renewed drone attacks on refineries from Ukraine come after several weeks of a lull, during which Ukrainian forces focused on hitting tankers in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
The brief respite in the attacks on refineries allowed some units to resume operations after repairs. This past weekend, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that the fuel crisis in Russia had started to ease as some refineries have restarted operations.
However, this week Russia extended the ban on gasoline and diesel exports from July 31 to the end of the year, indicating that the situation has not improved significantly.
Amid peak demand season, Russia has been suffering from gasoline and diesel shortages for nearly three months, as Ukraine's drone campaign to strike Russian refineries forced many large processing sites offline in the spring and early summer.
The overnight attack on the Volgograd refinery could now worsen the crisis.
