Russia ramps up refinery defenses in response to Ukrainian attacks

Russians react to attacks on energy infrastructure. After successful operations in which Ukrainians damaged oil refineries, among other things, a decision was made to engage anti-aircraft systems.

The Russian Ministry of Energy issued a statement last Tuesday, in which it announced that key energy facilities in the country, such as oil refineries, will now be protected using anti-aircraft systems. This decision is a response to the increasingly frequent Ukrainian attacks on such facilities, as reported by Reuters.

Artiom Verkhov, who serves as the director of the department for the development of the gas industry at the Ministry of Energy, suggested during a meeting of the Russian parliament that anti-aircraft artillery-missile systems, specifically Pantsir, could be used to protect the refineries. Verkhov added that the Ministry of Energy intends to cooperate in this area with the National Guard forces, also known as Rosgvardia, as reported by Reuters.

In the last week, Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that they carried out attacks on refineries in several locations in Russia. Among them were refineries in Slavyansk in the Krasnodar Krai, Novoshakhtinsk in the Rostov oblast, as well as in Ryazan, Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region, and in Kirishi in the Leningrad oblast. Both Russian and Ukrainian media also reported on raids on refineries in Syzran and Novokuibyshevsk in the Samara region, and on a fire near a thermal power plant in Saint Petersburg.

Attacks on refineries lead to financial losses for Russia. However, it should be noted that subsequent attacks also cause problems for the Ukrainian army. According to information from Der Spiegel, Ukrainian military commanders admit that they have to save ammunition. Consequently, limited deliveries make it difficult to attack specific targets.

In the first half of March, there were also reports of drone attacks on industrial facilities important for the Russian defense industry. Among them were the Mikhailovsky Mining and Processing Plant in Zheleznogorsk in the Kursk oblast, and the metallurgical plants of the Severstal concern in Cherepovets in the Vologda oblast.

Reuters estimates that the processing capabilities of Russian refineries, which were taken out of service in the first quarter of 2023 as a result of drone attacks, amounted to about 5 million tonnes of crude oil (approximately 403,000 barrels per day). This means that these attacks have reduced the processing capabilities of all plants in the country by about 7 percent.