30 June 2024

Military expert Ivan Stupak explained why the global impact of Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries hasn’t been seen yet.

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“There have been systematic attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Defence Intelligence, and the Security Service on Russian oil refining facilities for about six months. Despite this, there hasn’t been a significant increase in petroleum product prices in Russia, nor any shortages. I’ll explain why. While the refining towers responsible for primary oil processing and gasoline production have been hit and damaged, Russia still possesses sufficient oil refineries.

“Additionally, there’s an abundance of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, and fuel oil stored from previous production cycles in warehouses. Russia is now using these reserves, releasing them to the market to maintain supply,” the military expert explained.

Stupak says Ukraine wants to disrupt Russia’s economy by attacking its refineries.

“The goal is to make gas prices go up, cause shortages, panic, and long lines at gas stations with 500 cars, and raise bread prices sky-high. So far, these things haven’t happened. But Ukraine aims to cut the money Russia earns from selling fuel in dollars, yuan, and euros. Less money means fewer resources for recruiting soldiers or evading sanctions. We shouldn’t stop; we need to keep fighting,” explained Stupak.

• On the night of Thursday, June 6, Russia reported an alleged drone attack on an oil refinery in the Rostov region. HUR’s drones hit an oil depot in Belgorod region.