Ukraine war briefing: Russian oil system struggling under Ukrainian attacks – report
|
Version 0 of 1. Transneft has told producers they may have to cut their output because of attacks on pipelines and ports, Reuters says. What we know on day 1,302 Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has warned producers they may have to cut output following Ukraine’s drone attacks on critical export ports and refineries, Reuters has reported, citing industry sources. Ukrainian drones have frequently hit Russia’s oil plants, cutting refining capacity by up to a fifth, and damaged ports including Ust-Luga and Primorsk, Ukrainian military officials and Russian industry sources have said. Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it had struck the Saratov oil refinery in Russia during an overnight attack. Transneft, which handles more than 80% of all the oil extracted in Russia, has in recent days restricted oil firms’ ability to store oil in its pipeline system, two industry sources close to Russian oil firms told Reuters. Transneft has also warned producers it may have to accept less oil if its infrastructure sustains further damage, the two sources said. Transneft dismissed Reuters’ reporting as “fake news”. The Russian government relies heavily on oil and gas revenue. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, has said attacks on Russian oil infrastructure are “the sanctions that work the fastest”. The European Commission will propose speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports, the EU executive’s head, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday after a call with the US president, Donald Trump. “Russia’s war economy, sustained by revenues from fossil fuels, is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine,” she said. Von der Leyen announced the commission would soon present its 19th package of sanctions aimed at Russia’s war effort – targeting crypto, banks, and energy. Donald Trump on Tuesday said Zelenskyy will “have to get going and make a deal” while Europe “have to stop buying oil from Russia”. Europe has in fact greatly reduced its purchase of Russian oil and gas, though two big holdouts are Hungary and Slovakia, whose rightwing prime ministers are both friendly with Putin and Trump. Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has warned producers they may have to cut output following Ukraine’s drone attacks on critical export ports and refineries, Reuters has reported, citing industry sources. Ukrainian drones have frequently hit Russia’s oil plants, cutting refining capacity by up to a fifth, and damaged ports including Ust-Luga and Primorsk, Ukrainian military officials and Russian industry sources have said. Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it had struck the Saratov oil refinery in Russia during an overnight attack. Transneft, which handles more than 80% of all the oil extracted in Russia, has in recent days restricted oil firms’ ability to store oil in its pipeline system, two industry sources close to Russian oil firms told Reuters. Transneft has also warned producers it may have to accept less oil if its infrastructure sustains further damage, the two sources said. Transneft dismissed Reuters’ reporting as “fake news”. The Russian government relies heavily on oil and gas revenue. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, has said attacks on Russian oil infrastructure are “the sanctions that work the fastest”. The European Commission will propose speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports, the EU executive’s head, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday after a call with the US president, Donald Trump. “Russia’s war economy, sustained by revenues from fossil fuels, is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine,” she said. Von der Leyen announced the commission would soon present its 19th package of sanctions aimed at Russia’s war effort – targeting crypto, banks, and energy. Donald Trump on Tuesday said Zelenskyy will “have to get going and make a deal” while Europe “have to stop buying oil from Russia”. Europe has in fact greatly reduced its purchase of Russian oil and gas, though two big holdouts are Hungary and Slovakia, whose rightwing prime ministers are both friendly with Putin and Trump. A Guardian editorial on Tuesday said: “Those looking on the bright side in Brussels hope that Mr Trump’s pressure may persuade Maga-friendly governments in Hungary and Slovakia to end their deep dependence on Russian energy imports. That is extremely unlikely to happen, as Mr Trump and his advisers must know.” The editorial listed how Trump’s promises and threats concerning the Ukraine war have all failed to produce results – including how “an 8 August deadline for Mr Putin to agree to a ceasefire somehow morphed into a red carpet welcome in Alaska”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that so far in September alone Russia had launched more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles against Ukraine. A Russian drone, missile or glide bomb hit an educational building in Kharkiv city’s southern Slobidskyi district on Tuesday. The regional prosecutor’s office posted video of the strike, saying it injured three men and one woman. Some reports described the building as the pharmaceutical university. A Guardian editorial on Tuesday said: “Those looking on the bright side in Brussels hope that Mr Trump’s pressure may persuade Maga-friendly governments in Hungary and Slovakia to end their deep dependence on Russian energy imports. That is extremely unlikely to happen, as Mr Trump and his advisers must know.” The editorial listed how Trump’s promises and threats concerning the Ukraine war have all failed to produce results – including how “an 8 August deadline for Mr Putin to agree to a ceasefire somehow morphed into a red carpet welcome in Alaska”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that so far in September alone Russia had launched more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles against Ukraine. A Russian drone, missile or glide bomb hit an educational building in Kharkiv city’s southern Slobidskyi district on Tuesday. The regional prosecutor’s office posted video of the strike, saying it injured three men and one woman. Some reports described the building as the pharmaceutical university. The Russian defence ministry said that its drones hit a gas distribution station in the Sumy region of north-east Ukraine. It claimed the facility was used by the Ukrainian military. There are more than 210 sites where Ukrainian children have been taken for military training, drone manufacturing and other forced re-education by Russia as part of a large-scale deportation programme, Yale’s School of Public Health said in a report published on Tuesday that used open-source information and satellite imagery. Roughly half of the locations were said to be managed by the Russian government. “The actual number is likely higher, as there are multiple sites still under investigation by HRL and additional locations may exist that have not yet been identified.” Ukraine says Russia has illegally deported or forcibly displaced more than 19,500 children to Russia and Belarus in violation of the Geneva conventions. Yale has estimated it could be more like 35,000. The Trump administration’s first US weapons aid packages for Ukraine have been approved and could soon ship as Washington resumes sending arms to Kyiv, Reuters has reported, citing two sources in the know. Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defence, has approved as many as two $500m shipments under the new mechanism called the “prioritised Ukraine requirements list” or Purl, the sources said. It would be the first use of a mechanism developed by the US and allies to supply Ukraine with weapons from US stocks using funds from Nato countries. So far, the Trump administration has only sold weapons to Ukraine or shipped donations that were authorised by Joe Biden when he was president. A Ukrainian arrested in Italy last month over the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe must be extradited to Germany, a court in Bologna ruled on Tuesday. The man, identified as Serhii K, has denied taking part and will appeal against his extradition to Italy’s supreme court, his lawyer said. Russia’s FSB security service said it had arrested a woman in her 50s accused of detonating explosives in a bid to sabotage the Trans-Siberian railway. The suspect was working on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB alleged. Chrystia Freeland has resigned as Canada’s minister of transport and internal trade to become a special envoy to Ukraine – a newly created position outside the cabinet of Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister. Freeland will continue as an MP. The Russian defence ministry said that its drones hit a gas distribution station in the Sumy region of north-east Ukraine. It claimed the facility was used by the Ukrainian military. There are more than 210 sites where Ukrainian children have been taken for military training, drone manufacturing and other forced re-education by Russia as part of a large-scale deportation programme, Yale’s School of Public Health said in a report published on Tuesday that used open-source information and satellite imagery. Roughly half of the locations were said to be managed by the Russian government. “The actual number is likely higher, as there are multiple sites still under investigation by HRL and additional locations may exist that have not yet been identified.” Ukraine says Russia has illegally deported or forcibly displaced more than 19,500 children to Russia and Belarus in violation of the Geneva conventions. Yale has estimated it could be more like 35,000. The Trump administration’s first US weapons aid packages for Ukraine have been approved and could soon ship as Washington resumes sending arms to Kyiv, Reuters has reported, citing two sources in the know. Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defence, has approved as many as two $500m shipments under the new mechanism called the “prioritised Ukraine requirements list” or Purl, the sources said. It would be the first use of a mechanism developed by the US and allies to supply Ukraine with weapons from US stocks using funds from Nato countries. So far, the Trump administration has only sold weapons to Ukraine or shipped donations that were authorised by Joe Biden when he was president. A Ukrainian arrested in Italy last month over the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe must be extradited to Germany, a court in Bologna ruled on Tuesday. The man, identified as Serhii K, has denied taking part and will appeal against his extradition to Italy’s supreme court, his lawyer said. Russia’s FSB security service said it had arrested a woman in her 50s accused of detonating explosives in a bid to sabotage the Trans-Siberian railway. The suspect was working on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB alleged. Chrystia Freeland has resigned as Canada’s minister of transport and internal trade to become a special envoy to Ukraine – a newly created position outside the cabinet of Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister. Freeland will continue as an MP. |