Ukrainian drones halt operations of major Russian refinery – Reuters
Illustrative photo: The Saratov refinery was attacked by drones twice in just four days (Getty Images)
On Tuesday, November 11, a Russian oil refinery in Saratov completely shut down its operations after an attack by Ukrainian drones, Reuters informs.
The agency’s sources said the refinery may remain shut down until the end of the month. It was also hit again by drones on Friday, November 14.
The Russian oil giant Rosneft, which owns the refinery, did not respond to a request for comment.
Reuters, citing informed sources, writes that the CDU-6 crude distillation unit may have been damaged as a result of the strikes. This unit is the only one at the refinery. Its nominal daily capacity is about 20,000 metric tons, or 147,000 barrels of oil.
Last year, the Saratov refinery processed 5.8 million tons of oil, which is about 2.2% of Russia’s total oil refining volume. It produced 1.9 million tons of diesel fuel, 1.2 million tons of gasoline, and 1 million tons of fuel oil.
Previous strikes on the Saratov refinery
The Saratov refinery has come under attack by the Ukrainian Defense Forces several times. In particular, a series of explosions rocked the Russian cities of Saratov and Engels on the night of November 11 — the General Staff confirmed the strike.
In addition, the refinery in Saratov was attacked last month — the General Staff also confirmed the strike on the night of October 16.
Recently, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, stated that Ukrainian forces have already carried out 160 strikes on refineries and other facilities deep inside Russia. According to him, the attacks have led to a 90% reduction in oil production and to a fuel shortage of more than 20%.
