Ukrainian air raids will have affected 51% of Russia's refining

O Defense Ministry reported that recent attacks on refineries in cities such as Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov and Syzran left 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity dead, a statement that could not be confirmed independently.

Both Moscow and Kyiv intensified their air strikes, while the advance along the front line of 1,200 kilometres practically stagnated.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly attacked refineries from Moscow to Siberia, triggering a widespread fuel crisis in Russia since the beginning of this year, which forced restrictions on the sale of gasoline.

Russian authorities have not publicly disclosed data on damage to the country’s oil infrastructure.

However, on a rare admission made on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said that the attacks have already cost Russia about 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“They [Ukraine] began to attack oil refineries and openly declared the goal of damaging our economy. Have they achieved their goal? Partly”, admitted Putin at a meeting of the Valdai Club, a forum of international foreign policy experts.

Ukraine's Minister of Defence Yevhenii Khmara stated that analysts of intelligence services, the General Staff and the Ukraine's Ministry of Defense assessed that the effects of the attacks targeted 51% of Russian refining capacity.

Historically, Russia has been the world's third largest producer of refined fuels from crude oil behind the US and China.

Some of Russia's 32 refineries have been hit up to 15 times since the start of the war, and another has been attacked every three days in the last few months, creating a cycle of damage and emergency repairs that can deteriorate the long-term units, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Ukrainian attacks have also targeted more and more complex equipment, responsible for removing impurities from fuel, infrastructures for which repair takes months.

The IEA claims that diesel production has dropped by about 30% and that Russian drivers have faced queues of up to 40 hours to supply gas stations.

The Russian refineries tried to compensate for the situation by delaying scheduled maintenance and reactivating units that were disabled. Another measure adopted was the reduction of fuel quality standards to maintain gasoline supply, which brings risks of damage to engines and pollution control equipment.

The Kremlin also banned diesel exports, which raised global prices and led US President Donald Trump to urge Ukraine, on September 13, to stop attacking refineries.

However, a Russian missile attack killed at least one person today and injured another 10 in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, local mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said, who admitted that there might be people over the rubble.

A previous Russian drone attack in the Industrialnyi district in the same city also killed a person on Sunday, Terekhov said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported in a statement that it hit an electrical substation in the Kharkiv region, as well as energy and port infrastructure and vessels used by the Ukraine military.

The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russia launched 205 drones between Sunday night and today, of which 172 were shot down or neutralized.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has been struggling to repel the intensification of Russian air strikes against Kyiv, including ballistic missiles and high-altitude drones.