Reuters: Ukrainian attacks have forced nearly all major refineries in central Russia to stop operations

Almost all the major oil refineries in central Russia have been forced to stop or reduce fuel production following Ukrainian drone attacks in recent days.

Source: Reuters, citing sources

Details: The combined capacity of the refineries that have fully or partially suspended operations exceeds 83 million tonnes a year, or about 238,000 tonnes a day. This amounts to about a quarter of Russia's total refining capacity.

Together, these refineries account for more than 30% of Russia's petrol production and about 25% of its diesel output.

Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, doubling the number of refineries struck since the start of the year, based on various reports by Russian officials on social media.

The strikes, which have also hit pipelines and storage facilities, have reduced oil output in Russia, the world's third-largest producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia. This has increased pressure on Moscow's federal budget, which relies on oil and gas taxes for about a quarter of its revenue.

The refineries attacked include Kirishi in western Russia, the Moscow refinery, and plants in the cities of Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga River, Ryazan and Yaroslavl.

Kirishi, one of Russia's largest refineries with a capacity of 20 million tonnes a year, has been completely shut down since 5 May, sources said.

Another major refinery, Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez, or NORSI, with an annual capacity of 17 million tonnes, was attacked on 20 May. It is not yet known whether NORSI has been able to continue operating partially.

Background: The Moscow and Ryazan oil refineries suspended crude processing after attacks on 17 and 15 May respectively.

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