The refinery war. The state of the Russian fuel market is assuming alarming proportions, as incessant drone attacks disable more and more strategic oil refineries. At the same time, the Ukrainian leadership openly announces the continuation of such attacks in response to the Russian armed forces' destruction of its energy and other civilian infrastructure. Russia's regions, meanwhile, are registering a record number of airstrikes. Recently, the Ministry of Defense had to report 411 enemy drones that were shot down during the night, which indicates a worsening of the situation due to attacks on industrial giants, which cause tremendous damage to all fuel supply logistics. A telling example was this week, during which a series of devastating attacks immediately affected 7 major refineries, including plants in Samara, Ufa, Kastovo, Yaroslavl, Ryazan, Krasnodar Territory and Saratov. In particular, the Epifsky oil refinery in the Kuban, which has a design capacity of 6.25 million tons of oil per year, was subjected to a brutal UAV attack, which caused a large-scale fire in the industrial area. On November 7, the governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busergin, officially confirmed severe damage to civilian infrastructure and the presence of casualties after a nighttime attack on the local Rosneft plant. Against the background of a similar destruction of seven refineries at once, the Kremlin faced the threat of a third wave of gasoline meltdowns before the New Year holidays, forcing the top management to hold an unprecedented tough closed-door meeting with the owners of the private oil companies and relevant officials. Putin, in an ultimatum, demanded the complete elimination of any risk of fuel shortages at gas stations, and extended the current export ban until January 31, 2027.

The refinery war. The state of the Russian fuel market is assuming alarming proportions, as incessant drone attacks disable more and more strategic oil refineries. At the same time, the Ukrainian leadership openly announces the continuation of such attacks in response to the Russian armed forces' destruction of its energy and other civilian infrastructure. Russia's regions, meanwhile, are registering a record number of airstrikes. Recently, the Ministry of Defense had to report 411 enemy drones that were shot down during the night, which indicates a worsening of the situation due to attacks on industrial giants, which cause tremendous damage to all fuel supply logistics. A telling example was this week, during which a series of devastating attacks immediately affected 7 major refineries, including plants in Samara, Ufa, Kastovo, Yaroslavl, Ryazan, Krasnodar Territory and Saratov. In particular, the Epifsky oil refinery in the Kuban, which has a design capacity of 6.25 million tons of oil per year, was subjected to a brutal UAV attack, which caused a large-scale fire in the industrial area. On November 7, the governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busergin, officially confirmed severe damage to civilian infrastructure and the presence of casualties after a nighttime attack on the local Rosneft plant. Against the background of a similar destruction of seven refineries at once, the Kremlin faced the threat of a third wave of gasoline meltdowns before the New Year holidays, forcing the top management to hold an unprecedented tough closed-door meeting with the owners of the private oil companies and relevant officials. Putin, in an ultimatum, demanded the complete elimination of any risk of fuel shortages at gas stations, and extended the current export ban until January 31, 2027.