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Russia Blocks Chemical Exports After Ukraine Targets Its Rocket Fuel Production
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Russia has imposed a three-month ban on exports of several industrial chemicals used in explosives production and other manufacturing processes, following a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian facilities involved in producing rocket fuel and military components.
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According to Defence Blog on November 2, the Russian government announced restrictions on exports of benzene, toluene, xylenes, and phenol to countries outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), citing the need to maintain sufficient supplies for domestic industries.
The measure, approved by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, applies to petroleum- and coal-derived benzene, toluene, ortho-xylene, para-xylene, and phenol.
The restrictions do not affect trade within the EAEU, which includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. Exemptions cover transit shipments, humanitarian deliveries, and supplies supporting Russian activities on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Moscow has not disclosed the extent of its domestic chemical supply shortages or identified the factors behind the decision.
Although these substances are widely used in civilian manufacturing, several also play important roles in military production. Toluene, for example, is used to manufacture TNT, an explosive commonly found in artillery ammunition and aerial bombs.
Other restricted chemicals are used in producing plastics, synthetic materials, coatings, pharmaceuticals, and industrial components. The export restrictions follow continued Ukrainian attacks on Russian chemical facilities associated with military production.
Ukrainian forces recently targeted the Tolyattikauchuk synthetic rubber plant in Russia’s Samara region for the third time this year, as well as the Voronezhsintezkauchuk facility. Both plants produce materials that Ukraine says are used in solid rocket propellants for tactical and ballistic missiles.
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On October 31, Ukrainian Neptune missiles and attack drones struck the Kamensky Combine in Russia’s Rostov region, a facility producing solid rocket propellant for Uragan, Smerch, and Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy subsequently confirmed the strike.
Earlier in October, Ukraine also reported attacks on the AVISMA facility in the Perm region and a chemical plant in the Tver region linked to producing a fuel component for Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles.
Russia’s production of benzene, toluene, and xylenes is closely connected to its oil refining and petrochemical industries, including major facilities in Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Tobolsk, and the Perm region.
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