Ukraine reports hitting two Russian oil refineries, storage

Russian and Ukrainian authorities reported attacks on oil refining and storage Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 as the conflict continues to threaten oil supply security.

Two Russian oil refineries – Rosneft's 164,000 b/d Novokuybishev plant in the Samara region and the 342,000 b/d Ryazan refinery - were hit Aug. 2, the Ukrainian military said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. Rosneft did not reply to a request to comment on the alleged attacks and comment on any impact on refining operations.

The Ukrainian military also said that Russia's Annanefteprodukt storage site in the Voronezh region was hit.

Separately, an oil products tank with a capacity of 2,000 cu m in the Black Sea city of Sochi, Russia, was attacked, local authorities said Aug. 3. Flights from the popular seaside resort were also disrupted as a result of attacks.

Ukraine has targeted Russian oil refining and storage infrastructure in recent years, while Russia has focused on taking out Ukrainian power capacity.

Nuclear risks

Nuclear infrastructure was also hit by attacks. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Aug 2. that its team heard explosions and saw smoke close to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after an auxiliary facility was attacked.

"It was the latest in a series of incidents in recent weeks and months further highlighting possible dangers to nuclear safety during the military conflict at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant," it said in a statement.

The 6-GW Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is Europe's largest nuclear facility and has suffered several attacks and power cuts since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

All six reactors at Zaporizhzhia are in cold shutdown, but the plant still requires continuous electricity to maintain the cooling of its reactors and spent fuel pools.