Russia Repairs Oil Refineries Following Ukrainian Drone Strikes

Russia has been working fast to repair major oil refineries damaged in recent Ukrainian drone strikes, diminishing the idle capacity to approximately 10%, down from nearly 14% by the end of March, according to calculations by Reuters. 

Since the beginning of 2024, Ukraine has intensified drone attacks targeting Russia's energy infrastructure, including major refineries. Russia has labeled these drone attacks as terrorism. Ukraine, however, defends its actions as essential for their survival, pointing to Russia's own relentless attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities. 

Despite challenges in obtaining Western expertise, Russia is working quickly to repair the damaged facilities. Examples include the Rosneft-owned Ryazan plant, which has brought its crucial CDU units back online, and the Kuibyshev refinery which is repairing similar units alongside a previously idled one.

While Ukrainian drone strikes have caused some disruption to Russia's oil refineries, its overall offline refining capacity is expected to reach 4.4 million tons in April. This represents a slight increase from 4.1 million tons in March. The United States, the world's top energy consumer, has criticized Ukraine's strikes on these refineries. High fuel prices are a major concern for the U.S. ahead of its November presidential election.