Ukraine hits fifth Russian refinery in week ahead of Trump-Putin talks

Ukraine struck its fifth Russian oil refinery in a week on Aug. 14, as it kept pressure on critical energy infrastructure ahead of scheduled peace talks between the US and the Kremlin.

Ukraine's defense forces claimed an overnight drone attack caused explosions and a fire at Russia's 178,300 b/d Syzran refinery on Aug. 15. The refinery, located in Samara, southwest Russia, is one of the largest owned by Rosneft and serves as a key source of jet fuel for the region's military, according to the statement.

Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed via Telegram that the region was targeted by a major drone attack, forcing airspace to close and triggering temporary internet restrictions.

The incident follows a week of unrelenting drone strikes that have hammered Russian energy infrastructure. Back-to-back nights of attacks on the Druzhba pipeline system struck export infrastructure that delivers crude oil to Central and Eastern Europe, while new strikes hit Volgograd, the largest refinery in southern Russia.

On Aug. 14, Hungary's Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, confirmed that flows through the Druzhba pipeline system were interrupted by a second attack on the network. In a post on X, Szijjarto said that repair work was underway, leaving Hungary with a "good chance" of seeing crude flows restored within the day.

The Druzhba pipeline operator, Transneft, was not immediately available for comment.

Russia's Astra news reported that drones had triggered fires at two pumping stations on the pipeline, and identified the system's Unecha station in Bryansk as a target.

A spokesperson for Hungarian refiner MOL told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, that the company was aware of the incident but had not experienced a disruption to its scheduled crude deliveries.

"There is no supply security issue on our side," the spokesperson said.

With almost 290,000 b/d of refining capacity across Hungary and Slovakia, MOL is one of the largest refiners to still rely on crude through the Russian pipeline. In Belarus, two refineries still process Russian oil, while Germany continues to import some "KEBCO" branded Kazakh supply through the Druzhba connection.

Other former Russian oil buyers, including Poland and the Czech Republic, have suspended imports through the pipeline, partly due to energy security concerns as fighting has dragged on. In March, a drone attack temporarily suspended flows through the southern branch of the Druzhba network, accelerating a pivot from the Czech Republic.

Refinery targets

Persistent refinery attacks have mounted pressure on Russian oil product exports by knocking out swathes of capacity across the country.

An Aug. 14 attack on the Volgograd refinery left a fire raging at the 314,000 b/d site for almost a full day, taking its operations offline. Since Aug. 7, far-reaching attacks have struck refineries with a combined capacity of over 800,000 b/d, leaving facilities on high alert.

Earlier in the week, drones reached a record 2,000 km distance from the front line to hit Lukoil's Ukhta refinery, while facilities in Afipsky and Slavyansk were also targeted. Previous hits to the Ryazan refinery and Astrakhan gas condensate plant are expected to leave capacity offline until September, with repairs sometimes taking months to complete.

According to statistics from Ukraine's defense forces shared Aug. 15, oil refineries have been the focus of 42% of its drone attacks in 2025. Oil storage facilities were the focus of 37% of drone offensives, while 10% targeted pumping stations that keep pipelines running. Kyiv estimates its attacks have translated to a $74.1 billion hit to the Russian economy -- roughly 4% of its GDP.

Progressively ambitious attacks come as the world awaits the outcome of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, who are set to meet in Alaska to discuss ending the three-year conflict with Ukraine. The face-to-face Aug. 15 meeting is the first between the two Presidents since the war began, and excludes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

As Ukraine continues to fight for a seat at the negotiating table, it has leaned on its domestically produced drones to display a show of force in the conflict. Refinery attacks have already defied US guidance to avoid disrupting energy flows, while analysts warn that targeting export infrastructure presents another lever to step up attacks.

Ahead of talks between US and Russian officials in Riyadh in February, drones struck a pumping station on the 1.5 million b/d CPC pipeline, a major export route for Kazakhstan to ship its oil to international buyers. Railway infrastructure and Black Sea shipping facilities have also been targeted, but markets have so far avoided major supply shocks linked to more ambitious attacks.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data Russia's refined product exports have so far averaged around 1.3 million b/d in August. down from around 1.4 million b/d in June and 2025 highs of 1.7 million b/d in January.

July/August attacks gain momentum