Three-week Ukrainian drone blitz cuts 13.5% of Russian oil capacity, triggers price crisis

Ukraine strikes the heart of Russia's funding machine of war. In August 2025, Ukrainian drone attacks hit Russian refineries, halting at least four major plants and depriving Russia of about a seventh of its refining capacity, The Moscow Times reports.

Drones paralyze key refineries

• On 2 August, a UAV strike stopped Novokuibyshevsk Refinery of Rosneft with a capacity of 8.3 million tons per year.
• On 11 August, the Saratov Refinery, producing 5.8 million tons of oil was hit.
• On 15 August, drones paralyzed Volgograd Refinery of Lukoil, generating 14.8 million tons of oil and Samara Refinery of Rosneft, which brings 8.5 million tons of oil.

Additionally, half of Ryazan Refinery’s capacity of Rosneft, which produced 6.9 million tons of oil was halted on 2 August. Over three weeks, Russian refineries lost 44.3 million tons of annual capacity—about 13.5% of the country’s total.

Sanctions complicate repairs

Repairs at Ryazan and Novokuibyshevsk refineries will take around a month. Samara Refinery is expected to remain offline at least until the end of August. Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov has explained that EU sanctions have delayed delivery of necessary equipment.

"For example, a four-month repair was planned, but some equipment was delayed or not delivered," he said.

Gasoline prices hit record highs

Due to the lack of refined oil, Russia is facing a new gasoline shortage. Prices for A-92 and A-95 fuels have risen 40% and 50% respectively since the start of the year, reaching historical records of 71,970 and 81,337 rubles per ton. Analysis shows that Ukraine’s drone strikes not only hit Russia’s economy but also undermine the Kremlin’s ability to finance its war machine. Earlier, Euromaidan Press reported that the Druzba pipeline, Russia's key oil export artery to Europe, fully halted operations following a Ukrainian drone strike that disabled a key pumping station. The Ukrainian General Staff officially confirmed the pipeline’s shutdown, marking a major blow to Russia’s fuel exports, and a hard cutoff for its EU clients, including Hungary and Slovakia.