Russia’s ability to produce fuel is under attack. In the Far Eastern region of Primorye, kilometre-long queues at filling stations have already appeared and petrol prices are soaring as a fuel crisis gathers momentum.

Wholesale prices for both petrol and diesel have reached historic highs in August as production slumps thanks to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. A third of Russia’s oil products production capacity has been attacked since spring. The reasons, long denied, are now openly acknowledged: repeated Ukrainian drone strikes have disabled large portions of Russia’s oil refining capacity.

“In 2025, the tactics of Ukrainian strikes have changed,” notes the Russian Telegram channel Nezygar. “Previously, they were one-time: a unit would be damaged, the plant would reduce output, but recover within a few weeks. Now, attacks are carried out in series and repeated on the same facilities.”

A series of strikes on major plants — including Ryazan, Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran, Volgograd and Afipsky — have halted production lines that are critical to primary processing, hydrocracking, and catalytic cracking. Ryazan, which accounts for 5% of Russia’s total refining capacity, has had half its operations disabled. The Novokuibyshevsk refinery, responsible for another 3%, is also impaired. Crude shipments to the Volgograd Lukoil facility, one of the largest in southern Russia, have been suspended.

“Ukraine is widely using drones with a range of 1,000–1,500km,” Nezygar reports. “These can reach the Volga region — and export terminals like Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk are also being hit.” Even the Druzhba pipeline — a key artery for Russian oil exports to central Europe — has reportedly been targeted.

The choice of refineries as targets is no accident. “Modern Russian refineries were built using equipment from Shell, Axens, UOP, and Haldor Topsoe,” Nezygar observes. These include complex hydrocracking and reforming units needed for Euro-5 fuel production. With sanctions in place since 2022, Russia can no longer access Western equipment, software, or catalysts — critical consumables that must be replaced every one to three years. Chinese substitutes exist but are less efficient, and the technology gap means entire process lines must be redesigned to accommodate them.

“Every Ukrainian strike on a hydrocracking or reforming unit leads to months of downtime,” the channel warns.

There is also a growing geographic imbalance. “The map of Russian refineries reveals a key strategic problem,” Nezygar explains. “Main processing capacities are concentrated in the European part of the country, while fuel consumption is rising in the Far East.” Fuel must now be shipped thousands of kilometres to reach eastern regions like Primorye, increasing both costs and vulnerability.

With large refineries such as Kirishi and Volgograd now within reach of Ukrainian drones, the threat is expanding. Russia’s refineries were all hard covered in the Cold War to protect them from possible attack and until recently, Ukraine’s drones were too small to do much damage beyond cause a superficial fire. That has changed dramatically recently as clearly more powerful drones have been developed and Ukraine is now introducing even more powerful home-made cruise missiles that are capable of destroying a refinery. If the new Flamingo cruise missile’s reported range of 3,000km proves accurate, even Russia’s largest refinery in Omsk may no longer be secure. “As the range increases, facilities previously considered out of reach are now threatened,” Nezygar writes. “Protecting all refineries across the territory, from Kaliningrad to the Far East, is practically impossible.”

The conclusion is stark: “Russia’s oil and gas industry, once a source of economic strength, has become a vulnerable spot.”

Major refinery strikes: 

2022

June 22, 2022 – Novoshakhtinsk (Rostov region)
Two drones struck the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery, causing a large fire. This was the first major Ukrainian strike against a Russian refinery.

December 2022 – Novoshakhtinsk (Rostov region)
Reported drone attack disrupted operations again, though damage was more limited than the June strike.

2023

March 2023 – Novoshakhtinsk

A further drone strike attempt was reported.

June 2023 – Novoshakhtinsk

Ukrainian UAVs again targeted the refinery, underscoring its vulnerability as a repeated target.

January 28, 2023 – Tuapse (Krasnodar region)
Fire broke out after drone strikes hit the Tuapse refinery, a major Black Sea facility owned by Rosneft.

June 2023 – Ilsky refinery (Krasnodar region)
A drone strike caused fire at the Ilsky plant, one of the largest refineries in southern Russia.

2024

January 2024 – Ust-Luga (Leningrad region)
Drone strike set ablaze an oil terminal at Ust-Luga, a key hub for refined products exports.

March 2024 – Nizhny Novgorod refinery (Lukoil’s Kstovo plant)
UAV attack caused fire at one of Russia’s largest inland refineries.

May 2024 – Slavyansk-on-Kuban refinery (Krasnodar region)
Explosions and fire were reported following Ukrainian drone activity.

June 2024 – Novoshakhtinsk
Once again targeted, with local authorities confirming drone damage.

December 2024 – “Technical incident” at Unecha pumping station (Bryansk region)
Though not a refinery, this Druzhba pipeline node was disrupted, widely attributed to Ukrainian drones.

2025

March 2025 – Unecha (Bryansk region)
Drone attack hit the Druzhba pipeline pumping system, halting oil flows.

August 2, 2025 – Ryazan refinery
One of Ukraine’s most damaging strikes: about half of the Ryazan refinery’s capacity (5% of Russia’s national total, 13.1mn tonnes annually) was knocked offline. This was described as one of Kyiv’s most damaging strikes of the summer.

August 13, 2025 – Unecha pumping station (Bryansk region)

Drone attack on Druzhba pipeline infrastructure in Unecha.

Crude deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia were suspended from August 13–18.

Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto said repairs were initially expected to take one day before further strikes complicated recovery.

August 18, 2025 – Unecha pumping station (Bryansk region)

Second strike on the same pumping facility delayed restoration of crude flows.

Crude deliveries remained disrupted, heightening pressure on Hungary and Slovakia’s fuel supplies.

August 21, 2025 – Nikolskoye pumping station (Bryansk region)

Third strike on the Druzhba system in less than two weeks.

Deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia were halted again, expected to remain offline for at least five days.