Ukrainian drones hit one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries

Oil prices have found some support over the weekend after debris from Ukrainian drones started fire at a major oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow.

IMAGE: Getty Images

The drone strike was confirmed by the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces Robert Brovdi.

The oil refinery is owned by one of Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft, Brovdi confirmed. It is one of the four largest oil refineries in Russia, Brovdi claimed on Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine also attacked another oil depot in the Luhansk region on Friday, Brovdi said.

In early August, the Ryazan refinery halted about half of its refining capacity, after two primary oil refining units, with capacities of 8,600 mt/day and 11,400 mt/day respectively, came under drone attacks, according to Reuters.

Last year, the Ryazan refinery processed about 13.1 million mt of crude oil, Reuters reports.

The development comes amid a deadlock in ceasefire talks, despite continued mediation efforts by the US.

Ukraine has ramped up its airstrikes on Russian energy infrastructure and oil facilities in recent weeks to curb the Russian military's fuel supplies, according to oil market analysts.

The drone assaults have “begun to impact trade flows,” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

These attacks have raised geopolitical concerns in the global oil market and put upward pressure on Brent crude.

“This [recent attack on Russian energy infrastructure] comes as the US looks to increase sanctions on Russia to force it to the negotiating table,” Hynes added.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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