Steam billows from the chimneys of a thermal power plant and an oil refinery in Omsk, Russia, in October 2024. Alexey Malgavko/Reuters
Based on data from CNN
Approximately 1,400 km from Ukraine’s borders, on Saturday a fire broke out at one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, located in Ufa. According to security forces, the fire was allegedly caused by strikes of Ukrainian long-range drones; this is already the third such incident in the past month at this facility.
This incident has become one of the episodes in the escalation of the energy war between Ukraine and Russia, unfolding amid renewed strikes on energy infrastructure on both sides.
Footage from the outskirts of the Ufa region’s plant shows a large plume of smoke above one of the country’s largest oil producers. In the past week Ukraine has also carried out new strikes on Russian oil facilities; the campaign, which had developed over the summer, led to a gasoline shortage in some regions.
The energy war leaves Russia with limited supplies of oil and gas, while Ukraine faces damage to gas- and energy infrastructure and is forced to seek expensive imports from Europe to meet the shortfall ahead of winter.
According to Ukrainian official sources, more than 203 key facilities in Ukraine require protection by air defense systems; President Zelensky is calling on partners to step up assistance. Ukraine is also considering increasing gas imports from Europe by about 30% ahead of winter and is discussing EU loans of around €800 million with the possibility of expansion. Europe’s gas stocks at the peak of winter are estimated at about 83% of needs, and gas prices remain moderate on European markets.
“We are destroying the production of fuels and lubricants, explosives and other components of Russia’s military-industrial complex.”
– Oleksandr Syrskyi
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