April 30 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s Security Service, SBU, said on Thursday that its drones had hit an oil refinery near the Russian city of Perm, marking the second consecutive attack on oil facilities in the area, as Kiev seeks to restrict Moscow’s energy revenues used to finance the war.
The Lukoil-owned refinery, located more than 1,500 km from Ukraine, is one of the largest in Russia and has a capacity of almost 13 million tons per year, the SBU said.
Lukoil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Continues after advertising
According to preliminary information, the attack hit a key primary oil processing facility at the refinery, effectively putting the unit out of action, according to the SBU.
The service added that the attack again hit an oil pumping station in the region that supplies oil to the refinery. The station was attacked overnight on Wednesday and Thursday’s attack caused new fires.
Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russia, aiming to destabilize the Russian oil sector and reduce revenue that helps Moscow finance the war in Ukraine, while global prices have risen amid the Iran war and sanctions have been eased against Moscow.
