Two Rosneft Refineries in Russia Halt Operations After Drone Strikes
Ukrainian drone attacks have forced two Rosneft-owned oil refineries in Syzran and Saratov to suspend operations, industry sources say. The two plants have a combined processing capacity of 290,000 barrels per day.
Two Rosneft-owned oil refineries in the Russian cities of Syzran and Saratov have suspended operations following Ukrainian drone attacks over the past week, three industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday. The Syzran plant halted work on Tuesday, while the Saratov refinery stopped operations last Friday. Both facilities have repeatedly been targeted since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
At the Syzran refinery, a drone strike damaged the main CDU-6 crude distillation unit, which handles 71% of the plant's total processing capacity. Sources said repairs could take at least a month. The refinery's second distillation unit, responsible for the remaining 29% of capacity, was already offline for maintenance following a July attack.
The Saratov refinery had been shut for several weeks due to earlier strikes and was nearing a restart when it was hit again late last week. Combined, the two refineries process 290,000 barrels of oil per day.
Ukraine has been conducting a sustained drone campaign against Russian oil refineries and fuel infrastructure since the spring, stating its aim is to raise the war's costs for the Kremlin. The near-nightly strikes have caused fuel shortages across Russia since June, prompting authorities to introduce rationing in some regions and in annexed Crimea.
U.S. President Donald Trump has recently blamed Ukraine's strikes for rising global diesel prices and urged both Moscow and Kyiv to stop attacking energy infrastructure. Neither side of the conflict has signaled readiness to accept Trump's proposed halt.
