Drone strikes cut diesel output at three of Russia's six largest refineries

The Kirishi refinery, operated by Kinef, has been shut down entirely, while the Volgograd refinery and Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez (NORS) are running at roughly a quarter of their design capacity, Reuters reported, citing data from fuel market participants. The six plants — Omsk, Kirishi, Taneco, Volgograd, NORS and Perm — account for about half of the country's diesel production.

The Taneco refinery in Nizhnekamsk was attacked by drones on Sunday. Reuters' sources have not yet been able to assess the consequences of the strike.

Drone strikes on refining capacity have triggered a fuel crisis on Russia's domestic market that has continued since May and affected most of the country's regions. Because of the crisis, Russia has begun importing motor fuel, primarily gasoline, instead of exporting it.

To protect the domestic market, Russia banned diesel exports in July and then extended the ban twice — until the end of August and until the end of September. A ban on gasoline exports is in place until January 31, 2027.

According to traders' estimates, diesel exports from Russia in June amounted to less than 1 million tons, and including gasoil, about 1.8 million tons. A year earlier, when refineries were operating at full capacity, those figures were about 2.5 million and 3.3–3.4 million tons per month respectively. Turkey and Brazil have remained the largest buyers of Russian diesel for many months, taking at least half of available cargoes, according to LSEG data.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukraine should stop striking Russian plants producing diesel, because it "harms the whole world." Last week, the average diesel price in the US exceeded $6 per gallon for the first time. The Financial Times, citing sources, says there was no agreement between Ukraine and Russia on a mutual refusal to strike energy facilities, although talks on the subject are under way.

According to Reuters' sources, Russian refineries can produce more than 85 million tons of diesel a year, of which the domestic market requires an estimated 54 million tons.