Reuters
[Photo Credit: Reuters]
Russia’s oil processing has fallen just 3% this year despite Ukraine’s biggest drone attacks to date as refineries averted a steep decline in fuel production by leveraging spare capacity to offset damage from the strikes, sources said and data showed.
Ukraine has ramped up drone attacks deep inside Russia, aiming to knock out oil refineries, depots and pipelines and cripple Moscow’s biggest source of funding for the war in Ukraine.
Most of the attacks occurred at the start of 2025 then resumed from August. Ukrainian drones struck at least 17 major refineries in total, forcing Russia, the world’s second-largest crude exporter, to curb fuel exports and order extra drone defences.
At the height of the second wave of strikes between August and October, attacks and planned maintenance took 20% of Russia’s refinery capacity offline, according to the Reuters calculations based on information from three Russian industry sources.
But that only resulted in a 6% drop in total Russian refining volumes to around 5.1 million barrels per day – a reduction of some 300,000 bpd compared to the same period last year – the sources said and data showed.
More broadly, from January to October, oil processing fell to around 220 million metric tons (5.2 million bpd), down 3% from last year.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. Russia no longer publishes data on oil refining. Russia’s energy ministry declined to comment.
The breakdown between planned and unplanned maintenance was not available.
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