The renewed campaign puts Russian refined product supply back in focus, particularly diesel, at a time when the Iran war has already tightened global energy markets. Damage to processing units, including a diesel hydrotreater at Novokuybyshevsk, could curb Russian fuel exports and support refining margins if outages last, although the extent of damage has not been independently verified. Russia may also redirect more unrefined crude to export if domestic processing is disrupted. The political angle adds uncertainty: Washington has pressed Kyiv to stop these strikes and has blamed them for high fuel prices, so any US response after Tuesday’s midterms could shift the outlook for Russian energy flows and sanctions.
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Earlier:
OPEC+ holds December targets steady for third month as Hormuz disruption persists
Iran says two tankers hit mines in Hormuz as Tehran offers two-day reopening plan
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Kyiv’s informal energy truce with Washington has ended in smoke over three Russian refineries, with Ukraine betting that hitting Moscow’s oil revenue is worth the diplomatic cost days before the US midterms.
Summary:
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck three Russian refineries over three consecutive nights from October 30, ending a pause of about two weeks in such attacks
The targets were Rosneft’s Novokuybyshevsk refinery in Samara, the Bashneft-Novoil plant in Ufa and LUKOIL’s NORSI refinery in Kstovo, with combined capacity of about 33 million tonnes a year, roughly 10% of Russia’s total
The pause followed repeated US demands to halt refinery strikes, which Trump has blamed for high global fuel prices; the Kremlin said Kyiv was now ignoring US wishes
Kyiv has not formally acknowledged the refinery attacks and said it was responding to intensifying Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure
Trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US are expected later this month
Ukraine has resumed drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, hitting three major plants over three consecutive nights and ending a pause of about two weeks that came amid heavy pressure from the Trump administration to stop such strikes.
The first strike, overnight on October 30, set fire to Rosneft’s Novokuybyshevsk refinery in the Samara region. That was followed by an attack on an industrial area of Ufa, home to the Bashneft-Novoil refinery, and then by a strike overnight on November 1 on LUKOIL’s NORSI refinery in Kstovo, one of Russia’s largest, according to Ukrainian monitoring group Dnipro Osint and Russian state media. Together the three plants can process about 33 million tonnes of crude a year, roughly 10% of Russia’s refining capacity, though that figure reflects capacity targeted rather than confirmed output losses. Ukrainian drone maker Fire Point said it was involved in the Novokuybyshevsk and Kstovo strikes, including hits on a diesel hydrotreating unit.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine had not struck a Russian refinery since October 15, or any Russian oil infrastructure since October 20, as US officials repeatedly pressed Kyiv to stop. Trump has blamed the attacks for high global fuel prices, which energy experts mostly attribute to the US-Iran war, and last month lifted US sanctions on Russian diesel. European allies had reportedly urged Kyiv to wait until after Tuesday’s US midterm elections.
Ukrainian officials told the Kyiv Independent they never agreed to a US request for a 30-day pause. The Kremlin said Kyiv was now simply ignoring Washington’s wishes.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has not acknowledged the refinery strikes, in what appears to be an effort to avoid antagonising Washington. He has said Ukraine is obliged to respond to Russia’s intensifying campaign against its energy system. Russian drones and missiles killed at least 27 civilians across Ukraine on Thursday, and overnight strikes on Sunday cut power to hundreds of thousands of households, with Kyiv facing outages of up to 10 hours. Zelensky has said Ukraine wants stronger protection for its own energy infrastructure in return for halting refinery attacks.
Diplomacy continues alongside the escalation. Trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US are expected later this month, and the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin was willing to speak directly to Zelensky by phone. Russia’s core territorial demands, however, remain unchanged, which limits the prospects for a broader breakthrough.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
