Published: · Region: Eastern Europe · Category: markets

Confirmed Hit on Russia’s Ilsky Refinery Deepens Strain on Kremlin’s Fuel Supplies

Satellite imagery and industry data confirm a Ukrainian drone strike knocked out a primary processing unit at Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery, contributing to a sharp drop in national refining runs. With gasoline output already covering only about 70% of domestic demand, Russian drivers and the war economy are being pulled into the line of fire. This piece traces how one damaged column compounds a systemic fuel problem.

Russia’s war has come home to one of its most sensitive assets: fuel. New satellite imagery and industry estimates confirm that a Ukrainian drone attack on the Ilsky refinery in Krasnodar Territory on 8 August knocked out a key primary processing unit, helping push Russian oil refining to its lowest levels in years. For ordinary Russians and the military alike, the fight over refineries is starting to hit the pumps. Imagery released in recent days shows heavy fire damage to the AVT‑6 primary oil refining column at Ilsky, one of the plant’s core units. As a result, processing at that line has come to a full stop, according to assessments…

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