Ukraine says strikes disabled 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity
In short
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said late Sunday that long-range strikes had disabled 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity, listing refineries in cities including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov and Syzran. The claim could not be independently verified, and Russian officials have not released figures on damage to oil infrastructure. President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 1 that the strikes had cost Russia roughly 1% of its gross domestic product, adding that Ukraine had achieved its goal “partially.”
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Ukraine's Defense Ministry said late Sunday that recent long-range strikes had disabled 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity, hampering Moscow's ability to supply its forces during its 4 1/2-year-old invasion. The ministry said the strikes hit refineries in cities including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov and Syzran. The claim could not be independently verified, and Russian officials have not released figures on damage to the country's oil infrastructure. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara said analysts from Ukraine's intelligence services, the General Staff and the Defense Ministry had assessed the strikes' effects. “Fifty-one percent of struck refining capacity is a significant blow to the enemy's economy, to its ability to carry out aggression and supply its troop groupings. Our deep strikes continue to bring the war to Russian territory,” he said. [ 3 , 4 ]
In what the outlets described as a rare acknowledgment of the strikes' economic impact, President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 1 that they had cost Russia roughly 1% of its gross domestic product. “They started attacking oil refineries and openly declared the goal of damaging our economy. Did they achieve their goal? Partially,” Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Club forum of international foreign policy experts, according to the reports. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Both Moscow and Kyiv have intensified their aerial assaults as progress along the 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) front line has largely ground to a halt. Ukraine has launched repeated attacks on refineries from Moscow to Siberia, sparking a widespread fuel crisis in Russia earlier this year that forced authorities to restrict gasoline sales. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Russia has historically been the world's third-largest producer of refined fuel products from crude, after the U.S. and China, according to ABC News. Some of Russia's 32 refineries have been hit as many as 15 times since the start of the war, and one refinery has been hit every three days in recent months, ABC News reported. [ 3 , 4 ]
The English-language AP report, its Spanish-language edition, ABC News and PBS NewsHour all carried the 51% figure with the same caveat that it could not be independently verified. No document offered an independent assessment of the damage. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The claim, if accurate, would mark a substantial hit to the refining base that funds and supplies Russia's war effort, and Russia's own president has acknowledged an economic cost. Repeated strikes have already disrupted Russian fuel supply, and Putin's comment is a rare official acknowledgment of the campaign's effect. The figures on both sides remain unverified, so the scale of the damage is still open.
Key facts
- Ukraine's Defense Ministry said late Sunday that recent long-range strikes had disabled 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The ministry named refineries in cities including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov and Syzran. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The claim could not be independently verified. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Russian officials have not released figures on damage to the country's oil infrastructure. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 1 that the strikes had cost Russia roughly 1% of its gross domestic product and that Ukraine had achieved its goal “partially.” [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara said intelligence services, the General Staff and the Defense Ministry had assessed the strikes' effects. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Russia has historically been the world's third-largest producer of refined fuel products from crude, after the U.S. and China, and some of its 32 refineries have been hit as many as 15 times since the start of the war, according to ABC News. [ 3 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Ukraine's Defense Ministry said late Sunday that recent strikes on refineries in cities including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov and Syzran had disabled 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity — a claim the outlets carrying it said could not be independently verified. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 1 that the strikes had cost Russia roughly 1% of its gross domestic product, telling the Valdai Club that Ukraine had achieved its goal “partially.” [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Russian officials have not released figures on damage to the country's oil infrastructure. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Moscow and Kyiv have intensified their aerial assaults as progress along the 1,200-kilometer front line has largely ground to a halt. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Ukrainian attacks on refineries from Moscow to Siberia sparked a widespread fuel crisis in Russia earlier this year that forced authorities to restrict gasoline sales. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- Whether 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity has in fact been disabled. Every document carrying the figure states that it could not be independently verified and attributes it to Ukraine's Defense Ministry.
- The actual extent of damage to Russian refineries and output losses. Russian officials have not released figures on damage to oil infrastructure, and no independent assessment is given in the documents.
- Whether Putin's figure of roughly 1% of GDP is a full accounting of the strikes' cost. The documents report the figure as Putin's remark at the Valdai Club and provide no supporting data from Russian officials.
- Further details of the Ukrainian assessment. One document is a headline-only item with an empty summary, so it adds no detail beyond the claim itself.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Associated Press reports that Ukraine's Defense Ministry said late Sunday its strikes had disabled 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity, noting the claim could not be independently verified. [ 1 ]
- AP's Spanish-language service publishes the same claim. [ 2 ]
- ABC News publishes the claim with Khmara's quote and background on Russia's refining industry. [ 3 ]
- PBS NewsHour carries the AP report. [ 4 ]