Ukraine struck a number of Russian refineries over the weekend as Kyiv ramped up attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, while talks between Ukraine and the US aimed at reaching a peace deal with Russia continued in Berlin on Monday.

Unconfirmed Ukrainian reports also suggest that more Russian offshore upstream facilities have been targeted in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea following an attack last week on the Lukoil-operated Filanovskogo oil and gas field.

Drones struck at least three Russian refineries and a number of oil depots over the weekend as Moscow and Kyiv traded blows targeting each other’s energy facilities.

Local authorities in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region reported Dec. 14 that drone debris triggered a blaze near the 180,000 barrel per day Afipsk refinery owned by ForteInvest in an attempted attack on the facility.

On Dec. 13, there were reports of an attempted strike on Rosneft’s 140,000 b/d Saratov refinery, although local authorities said the facility was unscathed. And on Dec.12, the 300,000 b/d Slavneft-Yanos refinery was hit by Ukrainian drones, causing a reported stoppage after the plant’s primary distillation unit was damaged. The refinery, located in Yaroslavl city around 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow, is owned by Slavneft, a joint venture between state-controlled Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.

Last week, one of the primary distillation units at Rosneft’s 92,000 b/d Syzran refinery was reportedly taken off line after a drone attack on Dec. 5.

Berlin Talks

Meanwhile, on Monday, various European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, were expected to join further talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and US delegations in Berlin.

On Sunday, Zelenskiy met with US envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joined by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskiy indicated his willingness to give up ambitions to join the Nato military alliance in exchange for security guarantees from the US and other Western nations.

What this means in practice and whether it would be acceptable to Russia or would receive backing from the US and other nations is unclear.

At the center of the talks in Berlin is the 20-point amendment to the peace plan drafted by Kyiv and its European allies last week to counter an initial US proposal that was seen as heavily favoring Russia.

The fate of Ukrainian territories currently under Russian occupation is a key issue.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying Monday that Moscow is not discussing the progress of Berlin talks with Washington. But it is waiting for the US to formulate a position after the talks conclude.

“The work is being carried out between the negotiators from the US, Ukraine and Europe. … After they have completed their part of the work, we will expect to receive from our American counterparts the vision that is currently being discussed in Berlin,” Peskov said.

Products Export Ban

Reports also emerged Monday that Russia may now leave restrictions on gasoline and diesel exports in place until the end of February, versus initial plans to potentially lift them from January 2026.

That follows a meeting held by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on the current situation on the domestic products market, attended by state officials and oil company representatives.

Russia has taken various urgent measures to help tackle the domestic fuel crisis caused by repeated drone attacks on its refining fleet, the world’s third-largest in terms of capacity. That includes a total ban on gasoline exports for both producers and non-producers and a ban on diesel exports for non-producers.

Attacks in late July forced refiners to cut runs in August and September to their lowest levels in three years. In September, in particular, refining throughput fell to three-year lows of just 4.9 million b/d before rebounding in October and November to over 5.1 million b/d last month.

Caspian Fields Hit

Separately, Ukrainian media, citing Ukraine’s Security Service, reported further attacks on Dec. 12 on offshore platforms at the Lukoil-operated Filanovskogo and Korchagina oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea.

The reports could not be corroborated, but if true, mark the second strike within a week targeting Lukoil’s Filanovskogo field and a shift in Kyiv’s strategy.

Lukoil declined to comment.

Lukoil is developing three fields in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea — Korchagina, Filanovskogo and Grayfer. Together, they produce over 140,000 b/d, or close to 10% of Lukoil’s total crude oil and gas condensate output in Russia.