RUSSIA, VOLGOGRAD — In the early hours of Thursday, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted a major Lukoil refinery in Volgograd, Russia. This caused an oil spill and a fire at the complex. Andrei Bocharov, the governor of Volgograd, said that the Russian Air Force stopped a “massive UAV attack,” but the fire started when debris from a drone strike fell. The regional administration’s press office said that the fire was put out at 8:13 p.m. local time and that there were no reports of injuries or deaths.
The Volgograd refinery is one of the ten largest in Russia and is an important part of the country’s energy infrastructure. It can refine more than 15 million metric tons of oil per year, which is around 5.6% of Russia’s total refining capacity. The factory makes diesel, gasoline, and aviation fuel, which are all very important for the Russian military’s logistics.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed the attack, saying that it was a joint operation between the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), and other parts of the Defense Forces. The attack is part of a larger plan by Ukraine to methodically attack Russia’s energy infrastructure in order to cripple its military and economy.
A pattern of attacks against Russian energy infrastructure
The attack on the Volgograd refinery is the most recent in a string of Ukrainian drone strikes that have been becoming worse this month. Other recent targets have been:
Three Rosneft PJSC facilities, one in Saratov Oblast that stopped taking in crude oil and two in Ryazan and Novokuibyshevsk that either cut back on operations or stopped them altogether.
A major helium facility owned by Gazprom PJSC, a gas company.
An oil-pumping station in Unecha, which is an important center for Russia’s pipelines that export crude oil.
The Lukoil-Ukhta refinery in the Komi Republic was hit on August 10.
These attacks are putting a lot of stress on Russia’s refinery operations, especially since the country needs more gasoline and diesel throughout the winter. The strikes have also shaken up Russia’s petroleum industry, and prices are already going up.
The timing of this strike is interesting since it happens immediately before an important meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where they are scheduled to talk about a possible ceasefire agreement. People think that the strikes will help Ukraine’s negotiating position and show that it can hit targets far within Russia.