Ukrainian Drone Strikes Cripple Key Russian Refineries

The 200,000-barrel-per-day facility in the Bashkortostan region remains a primary target for Kyiv, which has intensified its offensive to choke off Moscow’s oil revenue. While regional governor Radiy Khabirov downplayed the incident as a fire caused by drone debris, the impact on domestic fuel supplies is mounting. The Orsknefteorgsintez plant in the Orenburg region, another critical site, has ceased all operations following a separate strike. Regional governor Yevgeny Solntsev admitted that repairs could drag on for six months, as international sanctions leave Russia unable to source the specialized equipment required for a swift recovery.

The compounding outages have forced Moscow into the unusual position of importing gasoline from India to meet domestic demand. Data from Kpler confirms a 42,000-ton shipment from Nayara Energy arrived in early August. Meanwhile, national refinery throughput in July plummeted to 3.6 million barrels per day—a 30% drop below seasonal averages—triggering a 55% year-on-year decline in seaborne petroleum-product exports. By extending these strikes to infrastructure linked to the Novorossiysk terminal, Ukraine continues to pressure the vital logistics chains that sustain Russian crude exports.