Ukraine Hits Russian Refineries, Ships, Moscow Hits Odesa
Kyiv struck a slew of Russian energy targets overnight, while Moscow hit fuel facilities in the Ukrainian port of Odesa in a fresh wave of tit-for-tat attacks.
Ukraine targeted two Russian refineries, causing fires at both sites, as well as five tankers and an oil transshipment area in the Black Sea, the country’s General Staff said in a statement on Tuesday.
Kyiv has been carrying out almost daily strikes on Russian energy assets in an effort to bring the Kremlin to the negotiating table. As a result of its recent bombardment of refineries, Russian oil-processing rates have dropped to the lowest in more than two decades, according to EA Analytics, deepening a domestic fuel crunch.
The latest attacks targeted the Afipsky refinery in southern Russia and the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat facility near the Urals mountains, according to the statement. The five tankers that came under fire — along with five dry-bulk carriers — were in the Sea of Azov, to the north of the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Odesa region, striking infrastructure used to unload and store fuel and lubricants for the military at Pivdennyi port, also on the Black Sea, Interfax reported.
Pivdennyi is Ukraine’s largest deepwater Black Sea terminal and part of the Greater Odesa port cluster. Before the war, it was the country’s biggest port by cargo turnover and a key hub for bulk and liquid-bulk cargoes.
Halt to Shipping
Following attacks earlier this month on Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov, Moscow suspended shipping through the Don-Azov Channel, which links the sea with the Don River, Reuters reported Friday. It also closed the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, the news service reported.
The plant in Salavat suffered some damage in the latest assault, though not affecting key units, regional governor Radiy Khabirov said in a statement on Telegram. “Repair works will continue round the clock; I believe the facility will resume operations at usual rates within several days.”
Gazprom PJSC, which owns the 200,000-barrel-a-day plant, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Emergency services in Russia’s Krasnodar region reported a fire at the Afipsky refinery earlier Tuesday, and later said it was extinguished. The 180,000-barrel-a-day site has been the target of multiple Ukrainian drone attacks, most recently in early June.
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