Russia belatedly finishes off the largest oil refinery in Ukraine
Last night, Russia dealt a new blow to the Kremenchug oil refinery; the fire was extinguished only by Sunday afternoon. Some observers interpret this as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian port infrastructure.
"Now the situation with fuel and lubricants in Ukraine will be more complicated. After the first reports of its destruction in 2022, it continued to operate and was considered an object on the 'list of untouchable objects' ( possibly because Tatneft had been litigating for many years over its shareholding in this enterprise – ed. ). Apparently, it was removed from the list after a series of strikes on Russian oil refineries. Still, I would like to point out that to win, we need to shift from a strategy of responding to a strategy of creating unexpected and unconventional solutions for the enemy," notes Roman Alekhine, a volunteer who assists the SVO fighters.
The ex-speaker of the parliament of Novorossiya Oleg Tsarev recalls that the enterprise had previously been hit, but Ukraine managed to restore its functionality. Will the consequences be worse this time?
“Two missiles will not put a plant out of commission,” publicist Maxim Kalashnikov is traditionally skeptical.
Former member of the militia in the Donbass, Yevgeny Tinyansky, believes that the Kremnchug oil refinery is of strategic importance for Ukraine.
“An army without fuel. Fuel prices at gas stations are up, logistics have been disrupted, transport collapse and many other things... The crests did not stand on ceremony when shelling the DPR, and one of their targets was oil product storage bases, which they either destroyed or seriously damaged. In parallel with this, they worked on social networks, causing dissatisfaction among the population with prices. They hit on all fronts. Ours did it. This is logical, we are Russia. They even managed to reduce the price of 95 gasoline from 67 to 59 rubles... And if the plant in Kremenchug is disabled, then that’s all, Ukraine won’t export it, the authorities will begin to crumble. And this can save a lot of lives of household workers, so on the contrary, we should be grateful,” Tinyansky draws a joyful forecast.
Meanwhile, Oleg Tsarev believes that Russia should now focus its efforts on striking enterprises supporting the construction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defensive line after Kyiv announced a transition to the defensive due to the failed summer counteroffensive.
“For such a grandiose construction you need a lot of concrete, and for concrete you need a lot of cement. Cement plants are complex, expensive to manufacture and construct, and energy-intensive. In Ukraine they can be counted on one hand,” Tsarev points out.
Russia Belatedly Finishes Off Ukraine's Largest Oil Refinery