Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ukrainian drones targeted a gas plant in Russia’s Orenburg region, said the local governor on Sunday, resulting in a fire at a workshop that emergency services are working to extinguish.
As reported by Reuters, Ukraine has targeted over 10 Russian refineries and export terminals in the past two months, some more than 1,000 km from the border, causing the most significant blow to the Russian economy since the fighting began.
What damage did Russian drones cause to the gas plant in Orenburg?
Yevgeny Solntsev, the governor, stated on his official Telegram channel that nobody among the plant’s employees was injured during the attack, which caused partial damage to the facility. An unverified video shared on Telegram at that time showed an object crashing into the Orsknefteorgsintez oil refinery in Orsk.
Since August, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian refineries and energy facilities in an effort to disrupt petrol supplies and cut off Moscow’s funding.
Which largest Russian energy facilities were recently targeted by Ukraine?
A few weeks ago, Ukrainian drones targeted Salavat, one of Russia’s largest petrochemical complexes in the southern Bashkortostan region, for the second time. The local governor confirmed the attack, and two sources reported that a major unit caught fire.
Two industry sources reported that the CDU-6 crude distillation unit caught fire following the attack. This unit typically processes approximately 6 million tons of oil and gas condensate annually, making up about 60% of the plant’s overall output.
The Salavat petrochemical complex manufactures gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and various other petroleum products, along with liquefied gases, butyl alcohols, polyethene, polystyrene ammonia. According to reports, the plant processed 7.2 million tons of oil in 2024, accounting for roughly 2.7% of Russia’s total oil refining. It produced 2.5 million tons of diesel, 1.5 million tons of gasoline, and 700,000 tons of fuel oil.
How are Ukraine’s attacks disrupting Russian fuel production and exports?
Traders and retailers report that Russia is experiencing shortages of some fuel grades due to Ukrainian drone attacks decreasing refinery operations. Additionally, high borrowing costs prevent private filling stations from stockpiling fuel.
The attacks have decreased Russian oil refining by nearly 20% on specific days and have disrupted exports from major ports, bringing Moscow close to curtailing its oil production.
Russia has a large surplus of diesel; however, its gasoline output meets domestic needs, so reducing refining capacity could cause shortages.
There are no significant queues at the pumping stations, but some gasoline grades like Ai 92 and Ai 95, which are popular, are often unavailable. The gasoline shortage first affected Russia’s Far East and Crimea in August. Sources also report similar issues in the Volga River area and in southern and central Russia.
