Ukraine Strikes 2 Russian Refineries, Hitting 22M Tonnes of Capacity

Ukraine's military struck two Russian oil refineries in long-range drone attacks Thursday, targeting a combined 22 million metric tons of annual processing capacity.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the strikes, calling them "long-range sanctions" against Russia's energy infrastructure. "Our responses to Russian aggression in the Black Sea were also successful," he said on X, citing hits on two military patrol boats and shadow fleet vessels.

The Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Ufa processes about 7.4 million metric tons of crude annually and is part of the Bashneft group controlled by Rosneft since 2016. It was the third Ukrainian strike on Ufa refineries in five days, following attacks on Bashneft-UNPZ on Aug. 2 and Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim on Aug. 1. The Slavneft-Yanos facility in Yaroslavl, a joint venture between Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, ranks among Russia's five largest refineries with roughly 15 million metric tons of annual capacity and had already been struck twice in July.

The strikes are part of a broader Ukrainian campaign to degrade Russia's fuel supply and war economy. A recently completed 40-day operation by Ukraine's Security Service carried out more than 100 long-range strikes, including attacks on 14 oil refineries. Russia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted 605 Ukrainian drones across the country and annexed Crimea between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, while Yaroslavl Governor Mikhail Yevrayev called the attack the "largest-ever" drone assault on the region, with 92 drones intercepted.

The Ufa complex, where three Bashneft refineries sit in close proximity, is one of Russia's largest oil-processing hubs with a combined capacity of 23.5 million metric tons a year. It supplies fuel to both the domestic market and Russia's occupying forces in Ukraine, making it a priority target for Kyiv's long-range strike campaign. Bashkortostan's head, Radiy Khabirov, said in June the region was deploying nearly 100 mobile fire units to counter drone threats, acknowledging that "Ukraine is sophisticated, Ukraine is active."

The attacks extend a pattern of escalating strikes on Russian energy infrastructure that has already produced acute fuel shortages in parts of the country. Ukraine has also targeted logistics infrastructure, hitting almost two dozen Wildberries distribution centers since mid-July over accusations the online retailer supplies the Russian military with drone parts and other equipment. A Wildberries warehouse in the Tver region reported "slight damage" from overnight attacks.

For global markets, the strikes add to the geopolitical risk premium already embedded in crude prices, as repeated hits on refineries threaten to tighten refined-product supply even as Russia maintains crude exports. The last time Ukrainian drones struck the Ufa complex in September 2025, the attack disrupted operations at one of Russia's largest refining hubs for weeks, showing how concentrated processing capacity remains vulnerable. With Kyiv showing no sign of pausing its long-range campaign, further strikes on Russia's roughly 40 major refineries could keep fuel-supply risk elevated through the autumn heating season.

The campaign has forced Moscow to divert resources to defend critical infrastructure, with air-defense systems stretched across a vast territory from Bashkortostan in the east to Yaroslavl and Tver in the west. Each successful strike on a refinery removes a slice of Russia's domestic fuel output, which in turn pressures the government's ability to fund its war effort through energy revenues. For oil traders, the repeated hits on refining capacity — as opposed to crude production — mean the risk is concentrated in the products market, where gasoline and diesel inventories could tighten faster than headline crude benchmarks suggest, a dynamic that tends to support refined-product prices while weighing on Russian energy firms exposed to the damaged assets.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.