"Russia cuts oil production by a tenth due to drone attacks from Ukraine, according to Reuters."

By the third year of the war, the oil industry of the Russian Federation began to respond to the sanctions imposed by Ukraine's partners and to the regular drone attacks by the Armed Forces. For instance, as a result of air strikes, Russians lost 10% of their oil refining capacities. The impact of these strikes on Russia's oil production was reported by Reuters.

The agency highlighted two factors that negatively affected oil production in Russia. The first factor is the sanctions on oil tankers. Following the decision of the 46th President of the USA, Joe Biden, 180 tankers have been barred from entering Asian ports, as reminded by Reuters. The second factor is the massive drone attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which have targeted Russian oil refineries for nearly a year. As a result of these strikes, three plants were shut down: the Ryazan (17 million tons of oil per year), Volgograd (14 million tons), and Astrakhan (3.3 million tons). Journalists spoke with several anonymous sources related to the industry, which is suffering from sanctions and drone attacks. The sources stated that Russia is compelled to reduce oil production.

"The reality is clear: Russia will have no choice but to slow down oil production," — quoted Reuters the opinion of a leader from a Russian company.

Details on Russian Oil

The agency's article listed the negative consequences that are already present in the oil industry of the aggressor country or will manifest in the near future:

• within the next month, Russia will reduce production below 9 million barrels per day, and then the decline will be even greater;
• exports from the ports of Ust-Luga, Primorsk, and Novorossiysk fell by 17% in January;
• the cost of transporting Russian oil has increased fivefold. This refers to transportation from the Kozmino port to China (2,000 km across the Pacific Ocean);
• India and China have closed their ports to one-fifth of Russia's shadow fleet;
• 17 million barrels are stuck on tankers that cannot dock at ports. By mid-2025, 50 million barrels will be stranded;
• Russia has reduced production, and this is coordinated with OPEC;
• the deficit in the Russian budget due to lost oil revenues amounts to $100 billion.

Journalists cited the conclusions of a representative from Russia's oil industry. The Russian stated that he and other entrepreneurs find it increasingly difficult to process and sell oil. In this context, they would like the war to end, as reported by the agency regarding the interviewee's position.

Meanwhile, in mid-January, the "Schemes" project published satellite images of the aftermath of the strike on the Saratov Oil Refinery. The photos show black spots where the oil storage tanks used to be, the journalists reported.

We remind you that on February 13, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of two radar installations used for the protection of Moscow.