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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Ukraine is stepping up attacks on Russian energy - and it’s working
By Tim Lister and Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN
Updated:
6:07 AM EDT, Sun August 24, 2025
Source: CNN
A dramatic rise in Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries has sent
gasoline prices in Russia to record highs, despite the government
banning petrol exports to cope with the crunch.
Ukraine is focusing drone attacks on refineries, pumping stations and
fuel trains in an effort to hurt the Russian war machine - but also to
disrupt daily life in Russia. Summer sees peak demand among Russia’s
drivers and farmers for petrol.
Ukrainian drones have struck at least ten key Russian energy facilities
this month alone, according to a CNN tally of attacks.
The latest, on Sunday, targeted a complex near St. Petersburg, setting
off an extensive fire, according to geolocated video. The regional
governor, Alexander Drozdenko, said fuel tanks at a port nearby had not
been affected.
The strategy seems to be working. The refineries struck account for
more than 44 million tons of products annually – more than 10% of
Russia’s capacity - according to Ukraine’s intelligence service.
Among the targets - the giant Lukoil refinery in Volgograd, the largest
in southern Russia. CNN geolocated billowing from the plant, which was
struck in the early hours of August 14. The Russian defense ministry
acknowledged damage to the plant, which was attacked again on August
19.
A large refinery in , also in southern Russia, was attacked earlier
this month. And fires Saturday at another refinery – in Rostov region
– more than two days after it was hit, according to Robert Brovdi,
Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems.
Gasoline shortages are reported in several Russian regions and in
annexed Crimea. Its Russia-appointed governor, attributed gasoline
shortages to “logistics issues,” and said the government was
“taking all possible measures to purchase the necessary volumes of
fuel and stabilize prices.”
An activist with a pro-Ukrainian group in Crimea, – Yellow Ribbon, -
said on that the most popular grade of petrol had disappeared, and
“the understanding that this is the result of the good drones work on
the Russian economy does not allow me to be sad.”
Despite government subsidies, Russian consumers are paying more at the
pump. Wholesale petrol prices on the have risen by nearly 10% this
month alone, and by about 50% since the beginning of the year.
Much of that increase is being passed on to consumers, with the Russian
far east especially impacted. Analysts expect no relief for at least a
month, even though the Russian government imposed a ban on exporting
petrol in late July - which in turn contributed to a rise in exports of
crude oil instead.
“Unfortunately, our forecast is unfavorable for now — we will most
likely have to wait at least another month for prices to fall,”
Sergey Frolov, managing partner at NEFT Research, told the Russian
newspaper Kommersant said that the surge in prices this month was
“due to accidents at oil refineries.”
The military is less affected because its demand is mainly for diesel,
supplies of which are less impacted.
A new focus
The Ukrainian military and intelligence services have developed
long-range warfare using drones, missiles and even as a very different
conflict unfolds on the ground. The military claimed this month that
long-range attacks this year have , with nearly 40% of strikes at
least 500 kilometers inside Russia.
It’s not possible to verify such claims, but there is plenty of
visual evidence of the damage done to refineries, storage tanks and
pumping stations in recent months. Repairing such infrastructure is
complicated by European and US sanctions.
In a report on Thursday, Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service said
that Russian companies were urgently purchasing petroleum from Belarus
to address domestic shortages. The state-owned refiner in Belarus, ,
says that in the last week “interest in Belarusian oil products on
the Russian market has surged.”
Ukraine is also trying to impede Russian exports of oil. Last week its
drones struck the Druzhba pipeline that supplies Russian oil to Hungary
and Slovakia – two EU countries whose governments remain on good
terms with Moscow.
Both complained to the EU, saying that “with these attacks Ukraine is
not primarily hurting Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia.”
US President Donald Trump also intervened, saying in a to Hungarian
Prime Minister Viktor Orban that he was “very angry” about the
disruption.
But for Ukraine, under pressure on the frontlines, attacks on
Russia’s vital energy industry are a way to counter Moscow’s
narrative that its victory is ultimately inevitable.
Ukraine is trying to add to its arsenal of long-range weapons and last
week unveiled a domestically produced cruise missile called the
Flamingo. The manufacturer aims to produce 200 a month.
Missile expert Fabian Hoffman says that for a soft target such as
distillation columns of Russian refineries, for example, the
Flamingo’s lethal radius would be upwards of 38 meters. That would
cause substantial damage.
“Each missile that successfully hits its target will cause much more
damage [than existing Ukrainian weapons] with its 1,150-kilogram
warhead,” says Mick Ryan, author of the blog Futura Doctrina.
“While I would not call it a silver bullet, it will have a
significant impact on Ukraine’s capacity to hurt Russia,” not least
because it’s hard to defend every oil refinery.
In the meantime, analysts do not expect thousands of Russian gas
stations to run dry but believe the disruption will aggravate already
high inflation and likely mean an extension of the ban on gasoline
exports into the autumn, as the Kremlin tries to tamp down prices and
ensure supply.
CNN’s Annoa Abekah-Mensah contributed to this report
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