(Dan Tri) – Britain estimates the damage Russia suffered when Ukraine repeatedly attacked Moscow’s oil refinery facilities in recent times.
Firefighters extinguish a fire at an oil warehouse in Bryansk, Russia (Photo: Reuters).
The British Ministry of Defense said on March 23 that drone attacks on Russian oil refineries may have disrupted at least 10% of the country’s oil refining capacity.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have carried out a series of drone attacks aimed at damaging Russia’s oil industry.
A total of 12 Russian oil refineries were attacked in many areas deep within Russian territory as of March 17, Ukrainska Pravda said, citing an anonymous source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
According to the article, depending on the extent of damage, major repairs at Russian refineries could take `considerable time and cost` and the number could increase due to sanctions.
The British Ministry of Defense also doubted Moscow’s ability to completely protect oil refineries from the UAV threat after Russian officials announced plans to deploy the Pantsir air defense system to these areas.
`Given the size and scale of the Russian energy sector, it is unlikely that Russia will be able to protect all vulnerable facilities,` UK said.
Bloomberg quoted Torbjorn Tornqvist – director of international energy commodities trading company Gunvor Group – as estimating that Ukraine’s recent drone attacks may have reduced Russia’s filtering ability by about 600,000.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said on March 22 that Russian oil refineries were Kiev’s legitimate targets.
The statement came after the Financial Times reported that the US, a close ally, asked Ukraine to stop conducting drone attacks on Russian oil refineries.
According to sources, the US warned that the raids risked provoking Russia to retaliate and push up global oil prices because Moscow is one of the world’s leading oil exporters.
Ukraine’s attacks have caused oil prices to increase nearly 4% over the past week.
`We understand the call of our American partners, but at the same time we are fighting with the capabilities and resources we have,` Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said.
Helima Croft, an expert who worked for the CIA, noted that Ukraine has shown it can attack most of the oil export infrastructure in Western Russia, putting about 60% of Moscow’s exports at risk.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden’s administration seems to be concerned that rising gasoline prices will negatively affect his re-election campaign this year.
`Nothing worries a sitting U.S. president more than skyrocketing gas prices in an election year,` said Bob McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy and a former White House energy adviser.
